Creeping mahonia
Mahonia repens · Berberidaceae
A low, creeping relative of Oregon grape, with matt, blue-green leaves that turn purple-bronze in winter, yellow flowers in spring and blue berries.
- Size
- 12 in tall, 24 in wide
- Zones
- 5 to 8
- Light
- Part sun to shade
- Flowers
- Mid April to early May
- Pets
- Toxic to people
- Job in a bed
- Carpet
A bed built around creeping mahonia
The planner designed this bed around creeping mahonia when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, part shade. It chose the other plants from the 513 that suit those conditions, and says below why creeping mahonia stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Creeping mahonia × 11, yellow
- 2 Dwarf lady's mantle × 9, green
- 3 Turtlehead 'Hot Lips' × 3, pink
- 4 Japanese anemone 'Honorine Jobert' × 3, white
- 5 Bleeding heart 'Gold Heart' × 1, pink
- 6 Northern maidenhair fern × 3, green leaves
- 7 Grecian windflower × 5, blue
Why this plant
- The bed's only structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down, and it is the only one here.
- The only dense clusters. The others are airy sprays, spires, open bowls and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only yellow. The one hot colour: every other flower here is cool or neutral.
Why here
- Under the taller plants. It runs back between them as living mulch: there its job is to cover the soil, not to be looked at.
- 11 plants in 3 groups (5, 3 and 3). Seen again further along, the same plant ties the bed together.
Why now
- In flower for five weeks. From mid April to early May.
- Part of the bed's peak. With bleeding heart 'Gold Heart' and Grecian windflower in early May: 3 kinds at once. No week has more.
- The only leaves in winter. From November to March it is what there is to look at.
Planned as an English border: 6 of the 6 groups (100%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Something is in flower for 24 weeks between early April and mid October, with a pause of 4 weeks from mid July. The scheme leans cool (pink and blue) and uses yellow for warmth, with green and white to calm things between them.
The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 4 Good, 2 Satisfactory. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where creeping mahonia goes in a border
At 12 in it belongs at the front of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is low (6 to 12 in).
Its job: carpet. A groundcover planted in threes and fives to cover the soil: along the front, and just behind it.
A tough, drought-tolerant carpet for dry shade under trees. It spreads slowly by underground stems and is not aggressive.
- Evergreen groundcover for dry shade
- Under conifers
- Native to the mountain West
What to plant with creeping mahonia
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Lenten rose: purple against yellow, opposite each other on the colour wheel, if you choose those colours, in flower together for five weeks; bold leaves against its medium ones.
- Christmas fern: its dark green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; tall enough (20 in) to stand behind it.
- Pennsylvania sedge: its green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after.
Questions about creeping mahonia
Does creeping mahonia need sun or shade?
Creeping mahonia grows in part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun), part shade (2 to 4 hours of sun, mostly in the morning) and shade (less than 2 hours of direct sun, or bright dappled light).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and little watering once settled. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does creeping mahonia grow in?
USDA zones 5 to 8. It is hardy to zone 5, which means it survives winter nights down to about −10 °F (−23 °C).
Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does creeping mahonia flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers mid April to early May. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 5 | Mid April to early May |
|---|---|
| Zone 6 | Early April to early May |
| Zone 7 | Late March to late April |
| Zone 8 | Late March to mid April |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should creeping mahonia be planted?
18 in (45 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 24 in (60 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 12 in (30 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many creeping mahonia plants do I need?
At 18 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 5 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 7 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 17 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as threes and fives, along the front and just behind it.
In the bed above, the planner used 11 in three groups.
Is creeping mahonia poisonous?
Yes: mild toxicity to people. May cause mild stomach upset if eaten.
Rated from NC State Extension. Where references disagree, the more cautious rating is used.
Do deer eat creeping mahonia?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
Will creeping mahonia spread?
It spreads sideways, by runners or roots; the risk of it taking over is moderate. Spreads by underground runners and can crowd its neighbours. Dig out the edges or divide every 2 to 3 years.
What flowers after creeping mahonia?
Creeping mahonia is over by early May. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Lily of the valley: from early May to late May, 8 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Sweet woodruff: from early May to early June, 8 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Bugleweed: from early May to late May, 6 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does creeping mahonia look like in winter?
Creeping mahonia keeps its blue-green leaves all winter, so it is one of the plants that hold a bed together from November to March, when the perennials have gone.
Is creeping mahonia good for bees and butterflies?
Creeping mahonia is visited by pollinators, bees, butterflies and songbirds.
It is native to the United States and Canada.
More Mahonia
- Mahonia 'Charity' Mahonia x media 'Charity'
- Mahonia 'Soft Caress' Mahonia eurybracteata 'Soft Caress'
- Oregon grape Mahonia aquifolium
In these guides
- Plants for dry shade
- Deer-resistant plants for shade
- Native plants for shade
- Garden plants native to Canada
- Plants for butterflies
- Plants for bees
- Plants that feed garden birds
- Low plants for the front of a border
- Groundcover plants
- Evergreen shrubs for structure
- Shrubs under 4 feet for small gardens
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub (groundcover)
- Size
- 12 in (30 cm) tall, 24 in (60 cm) wide
- Plant
- 18 in (45 cm) apart
- Height class
- Low (6 to 12 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- Mid April to early May; dense clusters; yellow
- Leaves
- Medium texture, evergreen; blue-green
- Shape
- Mat-forming, spreading
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 5 to 8
- Light
- Part sun, part shade, shade
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Berberidaceae
- Comes from
- Western Canada to Western & Central U.S.A
- Attracts
- Pollinators, bees, butterflies, songbirds
- Stands up to
- Deer, drought
Checked against NC State Extension. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.