by Maureen Gilmer
Do It Yourself Network
In the dry hills of California, one shrub jumps out of the chaparral with bright red berries in the midst of drab winter. This inspired its common name: Christmasberry. The shrub bears the most lovely of all botanical names: Heteromeles arbutifolia (Heter-om-ele-s ar-buti-folia). It is the Pacific Coast relative of the Asian toyons that once grew on one land mass before continental drift separated them very long ago.
This California toyon is a better choice for dry Southwestern gardens than the imported Asian species, Photinia fraseri or traditional hollies. It is extraordinarily drought-resistant, and hardy to about 5 degrees F. In their habitat, plants remain evergreen without a drop of rainfall for well over six hot months at a time. As with so many natives, plants are virtually disease-free.
Plants bloom in summer, and by December they are topped with heavy clusters of brilliant red berries. This provides a valuable food source for migratory birds and is particularly attractive to robins. Over the rest of the year, plants are lush emerald evergreens. Over time, a happy toyon can reach about 10 feet in height and spread.
The great proponent of native landscaping was Lester Rowntree. In her classic 1947 book, Flowering Shrubs of California, she writes eloquently about this marvelously versatile native: "In my wild-flower gardens I like to use it as a specimen shrub, rather than in a shrubby border or in any other way; for if you begin when it is young you can prune it to practically any shape you like."
Create a more compact specimen by gently cutting back the tips of rangier limbs while plants are young. This gentle pruning over time encourages dense branching, which is more attractive in a landscape. Older plants can reach treelike proportions, and as Rowntree says, these are best treated as single specimens. Creative pruning produces a broad shade-giving canopy and exposes trunks for night up-lighting.
The toyon also provides a very drought-resistant super-adapted hedge or screen in linear plantings. They may be shaped on the sides in late winter, leaving the top untouched to ensure flowering and berry production. Formal shearing with hedge clippers produces rigid geometry, but discourages both flowers and berries.
Toyon prefers hot, sunny locations with good drainage. In the wild it is most often found on slopes facing south or west, where it develops more slowly and flowers better. In partial shade, its limbs tend to elongate with irregular foliage distribution.
The berries are among the finest colorful decorating materials because they do not become soft or gooey, but stay bright red long after the leaves have withered. In Mary Parson's 1902 book on California natives, she describes unique holiday decorating in the West: "Venders mix the berries with the prickly foliage of the live oak to make them seem more like holly." Clearly, the native oaks and this toyon are the perfect pair for consummately Western holiday decor.
Plant Heteromeles arbutifolia from the smallest specimens you can find or bury ripe berries an inch or so underground to start a patch of them. You may have to special-order one-gallon plants at the nursery, as many are reluctant to keep potted natives in stock because they are too easily overwatered. Toyon is often found at native plant society or botanical garden plant sales.
If you want to explore no-care, drought-resistant natives for your landscape, start with this toyon. It is a remarkably cheerful in winter and refreshingly green in the long, hot summer. Ultimately, it will solve holiday-decorating dilemmas, and remain blessedly deer-resistant year-round.
(Maureen Gilmer is a horticulturist, landscape design consultant, and author of 14 books. Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service.)
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