yes, paghat, mahonia is native here on the east side of the cascades
whereever rainfall is more than 15 inches a year, although it favors pine
forest locations rather than open meadows or fields. I know a number of
people here who use it as hedge material, although they keep it at about 4
feet tall - and yes, it commonly reaches at least 6 feet here - sometimes
under fairly harsh conditions. I have discovered when transplanting it that
it will resprout from small bits of root left behind.........I can't tell
the repens variety at a glance - since foliage fruit and flowers are
identical to the larger variety. It's a rather nasty scratchy hedge, because
the points on the leaves are sharp, and the leaves are hard, not soft and
bendy. I'm not crazy about its winter reddish brown color, but it's
spectacular in late spring when the new foliage and yellow flowers emerge. A
very good choice though for any xeriscaping yard in this area.........
"paghat" wrote R. repens has an extensive
range but I don't believe it reaches the east
coast. It's common all over Washington & Oregon, & it cross-pollinates
willynilly with M. aquifolia so that sometimes they cannot be told apart.
Some M. aqualifolia end up being dwarfish, some M. repens end up very
upright rather than creeping. Both are common nursery offerings here in
the Northwest, but they sometimes erupt in the garden on their own since
they're native. I just today visited an alcapa farm about ten miles away,
& there were areas of the farm dense with mahonia, probably M. repens
since none were more than a couple feet tall. I'm of the opinion M.
aquifolia can be kept sheered short & will still do fine & look good, not
that I've attempted to limit mine, so I could be wrong on that, it's just
that it sometimes seems tough as a weed that nothing can harm. And M.
aquifolia can be MUCH taller than four feet. They'll grow in fairly dry &
nasty locations that would kill pachysandra.
-paghat the ratgirl
--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com/