Nandina Domestica: Almost Heavenly Bamboo

Nandina is one of the prettiest all-season shrubs you'll find. Its lacy leaves are bronze red in spring, followed by large panicles of white flowers 6 to 12 inches long. In the summer, the foliage appears blue green, fading to light green. Clusters of bright green berries replace the flowers and turn bright red as fall approaches. The leaves change to shades of pink and red in the fall, and the berries -- which are so heavy they bend the branches -- linger into the winter until discovered by robins and mockingbirds.

Don't be alarmed by its common name, heavenly bamboo. It's a member of the barberry family and is not related to bamboo, but only resembles that plant because of its fine-textured foliage and its growth pattern, which is cane-like. It's an extremely versatile plant, adaptable to a variety of conditions.

It's an excellent choice for a specimen plant, as stems staggered in height with a load of berries giving a pleasing vertical accent. Use it in a narrow bed that needs a tall, upright plant, or show it off against a light-colored building. A row of them makes an excellent hedge.

Although the shrub will slowly grow to a height of 6 to 8 feet, it can be kept at a compact size by pruning when necessary. For denser growth, remove old and weak branches in the spring at ground level, taking care not to remove more than one-third of the canes each year. Drawf varieties grow to 4 feet tall and also are available at Lavalette.

It will thrive in partial shade, but you'll achieve more striking colors by planting it infull sun, with a little shade in the afternoon. Pick a site protected from harsh winds and add some rich organic matter to the planting hole. Like azaleas, this shrub prefers an acid soil, with a pH range of 3.7 to 6.4, and benefits from applications of nitrogen and iron in spring and fall. Although nandinas prefer the soil moist at all times, these tough plants will survive dry spells once established.

Nandina is an evergreen, native to China and Japan, but will lose its foliage if the temperature drops below 10 degrees F. At temperatures below that, the canes may die back to the ground, but new ones will sprout next spring.