Creeping Oregon-Grape

I was really pleased last year when Bradley got a healthy germination rate on the creeping Oregon-grape, Mahonia repens, that Kevin and GrayC and I collected in 2010.  This was no small feat, since the protocol for germinating the seeds involves successive cold, warm, and cold stratification of the seeds in damp soil.  The young plants developed their typical red color for winter and seem to have survived the mild winter nicely.  When they have a bit more size on them, they can be planted in a shady spot so we can see how long it might take them to fill in. 

My theory is that most clones of this that are being sold are actually hybrids with Oregon-grape, Mahonia aquifolium.  As such, they are taller and aren't as ground hugging as some of the plants we collected.  The nicest clone was collected from the Oglala National Grassland in the northwest corner of Nebraska.  Below are images of that clone in flower in late May and in fruit at the end of July.  As you can see, it is truly ground hugging, never growing taller than four to six inches. 

I knew this plant well growing up.  The fruits are very sour and are sometimes used to make jelly.  The flowers are quite fragrant, and the color of the fruits is captivating, and they seem to persist, perhaps because of their astringent nature.  The one problem with this plant that compromises its use as a ground cover is its slow spreading nature.  Even then it seems not to make a really thick groundcover like English ivy, vinca, or pachysandara.  Still I like it, and I think its worthwhile to look at plants collected in other locations to try to find the best groundcovers among the lot.