Mahonia 'Soft Caress'
Mahonia eurybracteata 'Soft Caress' · Berberidaceae
A mahonia with no spines: slender, thread-like leaflets like bamboo, and spikes of lemon-yellow flowers in early winter.
- Size
- 4 ft tall, 3½ ft wide
- Zones
- 7 to 9
- Light
- Part shade to shade
- Flowers
- Early November to late December
- Pets
- Toxic to people
- Job in a bed
- Specimen
A bed built around mahonia 'Soft Caress'
The planner designed this bed around mahonia 'Soft Caress' when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 7, part shade. It chose the other plants from the 535 that suit those conditions, and says below why mahonia 'Soft Caress' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Mahonia 'Soft Caress' × 1, yellow
- 2 Woodland strawberry × 13, white
- 3 Drumstick primrose × 8, lavender
- 4 Turtlehead 'Hot Lips' × 3, pink
- 5 Northern sea oats 'River Mist' × 3, green
- 6 Hosta 'Golden Tiara' × 3, green leaves
- 7 Hardy cyclamen × 7, pink
Why this plant
- The only fine leaves here. The rest are medium. A change of leaf keeps plants distinct when nothing is in flower.
- The only yellow. The one hot colour: every other flower here is cool or neutral.
- Part of the bed's structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down. So does northern sea oats 'River Mist'.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 4 ft it is the tallest plant here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to northern sea oats 'River Mist' (2½ ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- One plant, alone. A shrub is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- In flower for 9 weeks. From early November to late December.
- Closes the season. In all that time nothing else on the plan is in flower.
- The only leaves in winter. From November to March it is what there is to look at.
Planned as an English border: 7 of the 7 groups (100%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. It is planted in layers: about 10 in at the front, 12 in in the middle and 3 ft at the back. Cool colours (lavender and pink) with yellow as the warm note, and white and green to calm things between them.
The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 5 Good, 1 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 mahonia 'Soft Caress' goes in a border
At 4 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is moderately tall (3 to 4 ft).
Its job: specimen. A feature plant with a shape of its own. It stands alone with room around it, and repeats only at a distance.
It has the grace of a bamboo and stays where it is put. Lovely with bold-leaved fatsia or cast-iron plant for contrast.
- Fine, bamboo-like texture in shade
- Winter flowers
- Containers by a shady door
What to plant with mahonia 'Soft Caress'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Autumn fern: its dark green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; low enough (22 in) to stand in front of it; happy in the same moist soil.
- Cast iron plant: its dark green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; bold leaves against its fine ones; low enough (24 in) to stand in front of it.
- Japanese forest grass 'Aureola': its chartreuse leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; low enough (16 in) to stand in front of it; happy in the same moist soil.
Questions about mahonia 'Soft Caress'
Does mahonia 'Soft Caress' need sun or shade?
Mahonia 'Soft Caress' grows in 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 soil that stays evenly moist, rich in organic matter, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does mahonia 'Soft Caress' grow in?
USDA zones 7 to 9. It is hardy to zone 7, which means it survives winter nights down to about 10 °F (−12 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does mahonia 'Soft Caress' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers early November to late December. As an autumn flower it keeps much the same dates in every zone: it answers to shortening days and cool nights more than to the warmth of spring.
| Zone 7 | Early November to late December |
|---|---|
| Zone 8 | Early November to late December |
| Zone 9 | Early November to late December |
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 mahonia 'Soft Caress' be planted?
3 ft (90 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 3½ ft (100 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 4 ft (120 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many mahonia 'Soft Caress' plants do I need?
At 3 ft apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 1 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 4 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 4 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as one, with clear ground around it: a feature plant is seen as an object, and a group of them is a thicket.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is mahonia 'Soft Caress' 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.
Is there a native plant like mahonia 'Soft Caress'?
Mahonia 'Soft Caress' comes from China. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Goat's beard: the same job in a bed; 12 in taller, 4 in wider.
- Western sword fern: the same job in a bed and the same size; grown for its leaves, not its flowers, medium leaves, not fine.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Do deer eat mahonia 'Soft Caress'?
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.
What does mahonia 'Soft Caress' look like in winter?
Mahonia 'Soft Caress' keeps its 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. It is grown for winter flowers as well.
Is mahonia 'Soft Caress' good for bees and butterflies?
Mahonia 'Soft Caress' is visited by songbirds.
More Mahonia
- Creeping mahonia Mahonia repens
- Mahonia 'Charity' Mahonia x media 'Charity'
- Oregon grape Mahonia aquifolium
In these guides
- Deer-resistant plants for shade
- Plants that feed garden birds
- Evergreen shrubs for structure
- Shrubs under 4 feet for small gardens
- Plants with spires: vertical accents
- Plants that flower in fall
Zone guides: Zone 7 · Zone 8 · Zone 9
In flower in: November
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 4 ft (120 cm) tall, 3½ ft (100 cm) wide
- Plant
- 3 ft (90 cm) apart
- Height class
- Moderately tall (3 to 4 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Early November to late December; upright spires; yellow
- Leaves
- Fine texture, evergreen; green
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 7 to 9
- Light
- Part shade, shade
- Soil
- Rich, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
- Family
- Berberidaceae
- Comes from
- China
- Attracts
- Songbirds
- Stands up to
- Deer, pollution
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.