Mahonia gracilipes
At a glance
- Lifecycle
- Perennial (hardy)
- Exposure
- Full shade
- Frost limit
- −17.8 °C
Cultivation
An easily grown shrub, it thrives in any good garden soil. Plants can tolerate temperatures down to about -10°c. Plants are very tolerant of pruning and can be cut right back into old wood if they have outgrown their welcome. Plants produce suckers and form gradually spreading clumps. Hybridizes freely with other members of this genus.
Propagation
Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame. It usually germinates in the spring[K]. 'Green' seed (harvested when the embryo has fully developed but before the seed case has dried) should be sown as soon as it is harvested and germinates within 6 weeks[K]. Stored seed should be sown as soon as possible in late winter or spring. 3 weeks cold stratification will improve its germination, which should take place in 3 - 6 months at 10°c. Prick out the seedlings when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in a cold frame for at least their first winter. Plant them out in late spring or early summer. Division of suckers in spring. Leaf cuttings in the autumn.
Edible uses
Fruit - raw or cooked. We have no specific information on the fruit of this species, but all members of the genus have more or less edible fruit.
Medicinal uses
Berberine, universally present in rhizomes of Mahonia species, has marked antibacterial effects.
Habitat
Not known
Native range
E. Asia - Western China western Sichuan province.