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Although this could very well be a picture of me finding a new treasure at a favorite nursery, it's actually an illustration by David Catrow for a children's book called Plantzilla.

Friday, January 23, 2015

Nandina domestica 'Moyers Red' Is My Favorite Plant...This Week

Looking for a jolt of bright color in the winter?  Nandina domestica 'Moyer's Red' might just be the answer.


Upright, multi-stemmed, broadleaf evergreen shrub with green, dissected, bamboo-like foliage that changes to bright red in the winter.

Clusters of small pink flowers in summer are followed by clusters of bright red berries that persist into winter.
 Grows to 6' tall by 4' wide.  Sun to filtered sun.  Well-drained, moist soil.  Moderate water use.  Hardy to zone 6.  For more information, look here.

I'm Joining with Loree at Danger Garden in posting my favorite plant this week. 

37 comments:

  1. Ooooo, so bee-you-tee-full. I second that choice!

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  2. That is bright, and it looks pristine too!

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    1. It is bright and looks so lovely with all of the greens.

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  3. At the entrance to my condo's garage there is a group of Nandinas, 3'-4' tall, with huge clusters of red berries weighing the branches down. I'v always love these rather humble plants and I'm glad you are shining the light on them.

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    1. They are easy to grow and they're pretty hard to beat for winter color!

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  4. I've often admired Nandinas in winter, and thought about where I might put one or two, but then spring comes and I get started on that frenzy of buying, and somehow I never end up getting any. That is such a gorgeous bright red!

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    1. Winter is definitely Nandinas time to shine. The rest of the year, they're nice but aren't as striking as in the winter.

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  5. Nice choice, I never have understood the "heavenly bamboo" moniker for nandina. You (and others) say "bamboo-like" but I just don't see it. Obviously I'm the minority!

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    1. I don't really see a great resemblance either; just copied that line from the plant tag. I thought that everyone else saw it.

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  6. Whoever lived here before me planted a bunch of different nandinas. Some turn bright red, others purple. Usually. This year they have remained bright green. I honestly don't know why.

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    1. I've heard that stress in the summer influences winter color but I don't know if that's true or not.

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  7. Nandina is one of the most over-planted and abused shrubs in my area. It's one of those plants that can be beautiful when well-grown and sited properly, but so very seldom is.

    BTW danger garden, when neglected and allowed to grow tall and leggy, they do somewhat resemble bamboo... but in the worst possible way!

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    1. I've seen it looking very sad at gas stations and other places like that where it's trimmed into boxes or gumdrops. I keep it in pots and move them to where I want a bit of winter color.

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  8. Wow, I have never seen one with foliage THAT red!

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    1. It must be the variety. There was another at the nursery, same variety, that was the most vibrant orange. I may need to go back and get that one as well.

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  9. Stunning, I now need the space to plant one!

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    1. I've run out of space in the ground and keep lots of things in pots now.

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  10. Great color - certainly much redder than the unidentified variety I inherited with our house, although I wonder if your colder temperatures also play a role there.

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    1. The color is usually more intense when they've just come from a nursery. They might do something to them there to make that happen. Temperature probably does play a role but I'm not an expert, more of a guesser.

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  11. Is Nandina domestica the house plant only Peter?

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    1. It is hardy to -23 C so we are able to grow it outside here but it would probably not be hardy outside in the north.

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  12. Moyer's Red is really bright, my Nandina is more of a salmon color. They all look like flames when backlit!

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  13. Nandina's knobby stems do look sort of like bamboo when the leaves fall off older stems if you squint a little. I expect the name originated from some matron who wanted her plants to sound more important than they were. Nandina is called a weed by the National Forest Service and considered invasive in some southern states.

    Nandina was one of the shrubs that my MIL used to try to disguise the cow pens. Mama did not have any after her yard man destroyed them when her back was turned, muttering that they were 'fitten only for [expletive deleted] graveyards. Birds plant them here and there in my garden. I grub them out as the mood strikes me.

    Nandinas are one of the last berries that birds finally eat here in winter, second only to Fparkleberry in longevity on the stem.

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    1. It's interesting how some plants are invasive in some areas and not in others. Love the story about Mama and her yard man! Only for graveyards...

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  14. I love Nandina, which is a brave thing to say in this part of the country. It is one of the more ubiquitous plants in area gardens. It also makes the invasive species list in some parts of the country, but here snobby gardeners just consider it overplanted, and passe, but not me. Your Moyer's color is a good example of why I like it.

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    1. After you mentioned it being overused in your neck of the woods, I started noticing it here planted around gas stations and the like where it is butchered into geometric shapes. Why do that to such a sweet plant?

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  15. A new one for me but very pretty! I love color!!

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    1. It's considered invasive in Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina and it can take temperatures up to 110 F so it would probably grow well for you in Austin. It does like a bit of water but I've seen it planted in places with no irrigation and it does well here during our annual summer drought.

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  16. I love that one. I have a NOID Nandina in my garden that was here when we moved in, but it's shorter and grows in more of a clump form. I like the layered growth of Moyer's Red much better, and the color is unbeatable! I like your idea of keeping it in a pot to be able to move it around too - might have to steal that

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    1. In the summer, the host of migrating, non hardy plants come out of the greenhouse and take the place of the evergreens near the back door and the evergreens go off to their summer places. It would be grand to have enough space to plant a lot of evergreens and allow them to be the backdrop for the summer residents but alas, my garden is a bit small. Steal away!

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  17. Nandina is creeping up on me. The other day you showed it brightening up evergreens in a nursery, and now this: I won't fight it.

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  18. It is just beautiful! I like both the leaves and the stems. Very nice color!

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Thanks so much for taking the time to comment! I love to hear your thoughts.