woodland shrub
Hollyleaved barberry
Mahonia aquifolium
Also known as Holly-leaved Barberry, Holly-leaf Oregon-grape
Native to California, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington and southern Canada
British Columbia to Idaho and northwestern Montana, south to northern California
- Light Part shade to shade Sun tolerance
- Moisture Dry Moisture preference
- Zones 3–9 Cold to heat range
- Bloom Mar–May Flowering time
- Height up to 15 ft to 4.6 m
- Life cycle Perennial Annual to perennial
In the garden
A woodland shrub for part to full shade and lean, dry soil. At up to 15 ft, it needs room in shade gardens and woodland edges. It shrugs off drought once established. Hardy in USDA zones 3–9.
Growing conditions
Light
Full sun Partial shade Full shade
Moisture
Dry Moist Wet
Hardiness zones
Find your zone:
Pollinators & wildlife
- Bees Common Eastern Bumble Bee
also Western Honey Bee, Eastern Carpenter Bee, Brown-belted Bumble Bee +49 more
Yellow-faced Bumble Bee, Ligated Furrow Bee, Black-tailed Bumble Bee, Red-belted Bumble Bee, Hunt's Bumble Bee, Fuzzy-Horned Bumble Bee, Two-form Bumble Bee, Half-black Bumble Bee, Orange-legged Furrow Bee, Yellow-fronted Bumble Bee, Vancouver Bumble Bee, Great Basin Bumble Bee, Nearctic Bumble Bee, Blue Orchard Bee, Yellowish Cuckoo Bumble bee, Sitka Bumble Bee, Indiscriminate Cuckoo Bumble Bee, Horn-faced Mason Bee, Wide-striped Sweat Bee, Prunus Miner Bee, Western Bumble Bee, Van Dyke's Bumble Bee, Lucorum-group Bumble Bees, Western Blue Orchard Bee, Pacific Dune-digger, Cresson's Sweat Bee, Snowy Mining Bee, Meadow Parsnip Miner Bee, Red Mason Bee, Olympia Sweat Bee, European Orchard Bee, Buff-tailed Bumble Bee, Willow Flower Miner Bee, Early Cellophane Bee, Red-tailed Bumble Bee, Barberry Miner Bee, Lasioglossum pacificum, Pacific Digger Bee, Common Carder Bumble Bee, Early Bumble Bee, Shifty Miner Bee, Garden Bumble Bee, Partly-haired Miner Bee, Tree Bumble Bee, Forest Cuckoo Bumble bee, Violet Carpenter Bee, Habropoda cineraria, Bombus vancouverensis vancouverensis, Hairy-footed Flower Bee - Butterflies Gray Hairstreak
also Clouded Sulphur, Silvery Blue, Echo Azure +6 more
Two-banded Checkered-Skipper, Gatekeeper, Holly Blue, Incisalia eryphon, Asher's Blue, Common Brimstone - Flower flies Common Drone Fly
also Greater Bee Fly, Black-margined Flower Fly, Variable Duskyface Fly +7 more
Common Lagoon Fly, Marmalade Hover Fly, Spotted Thintail, Williston's Bumble Fly, Two-lined Swamp Fly, Bumblebee Catkin Fly, Sun Fly - Also visited by
- Hummingbirds: Anna's Hummingbird, Rufous Hummingbird
- Beetles:
Asian Lady Beetle, Cream-spotted Ladybird +1 more
Dandelion Anthaxia Beetle - Moths: Achemon Sphinx, Eurasian Hummingbird Hawkmoth
Butterflies that use this plant
Documented host and nectar records. Each links to a planting guide for that butterfly.
- Clouded sulphurnectar
- Dainty sulphurnectar
- Eastern pine elfinnectar
- Gray hairstreaknectar
- Silvery bluenectar
Full plant details
Where it grows
- Habitat
- WoodlandThe wild plant community it grows in.
- Native range
- California, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington and southern CanadaUnited States (5): CA, ID, MT, OR, WA. Canada (1): BC. Where it grows wild on its own, by state and province.
- Native distribution
- British Columbia to Idaho and northwestern Montana, south to northern CaliforniaThe same native range, usually more exact than the state list, and often noting where it has spread beyond it.
Growing conditions
- Light
- Part shade to shadeHow much sun it takes, from full sun to full shade.
- Moisture
- DryThe soil dampness it prefers, from dry to wet.
- Hardiness zones
- USDA 3–9 · Canadian 1–9The cold-to-heat climate range it survives.
- Soil
- Moist, well-drained, acid loamsThe soils it grows in naturally.
- Soil pH
- 5.0–8.0The acidity to alkalinity it tolerates (7 is neutral).
- Soil quality
- LowHow rich a soil it needs. Many natives prefer lean soil and flop in rich beds.
- Water use
- LowHow thirsty it is, a rough guide to how often to water.
- Drought tolerance
- HighRelative to plants of the same type and region, inferred from where it grows, not a days-without-water figure.
- Salinity tolerance
- NoneHow well it copes with salty soil, near roads or the coast.
- Lime (CaCO₃) tolerance
- LowHow well it copes with chalky, lime-rich soil.
Growth & form
- Height
- up to 15 ft (to 4.6 m)Typical mature height.
- Life cycle
- PerennialWhether it lives a single season (annual), two (biennial), or returns for years (perennial).
- Growth rate
- ModerateA relative ranking versus other plants of the same type (USDA), not an absolute rate.
- Shape
- Semi-ErectIts overall silhouette.
- Root depth
- 20+ in (51+ cm)How far the roots reach, a guide to drought resilience and transplanting.
Flowers, foliage & fruit
- Type
- ShrubWhat kind of plant it is.
- Bloom
- Mar–MayWhen it flowers.
- Flower color
- YellowThe bloom color, or colors.
- Toxicity
- None knownWhether any part is poisonous to people or pets.
Propagation & seed
- Cold stratification
- Required (cold, moist)Whether seed needs a cold, moist spell before it will germinate.
- Propagation
- Bare root, container, cuttings, seedHow to start new plants.
- Seed
- ~0.0 million seeds per poundNotes on the seed and how to sow it.
- Seed spread rate
- SlowHow readily it self-sows. Slow or none means well-behaved, not a spreader.
- Seedling vigor
- LowHow strongly young seedlings establish.
- Vegetative spread
- NoneWhether it creeps outward or stays put in a clump.