Mahonia Caberet

I have come across a Mahonia Caberet online. It is smaller than the usual mahonia and has orange buds. It is something I looked at once before but never did anything about it.

If I got one I would have 2 options.

In a pot in the sun

Or

In the ground in the shade (against a west facing fence).

How well would it grow under either of these conditions?

Thanks.

G.

 

I wouldn't think it would grow at all well in a pot, far better in the ground, I think it would depend on how much shade, they don't mind partial shade but need sun too, I have one that has full sun in the morning and not much in the afternoon and it's happy with that. This is the advice for the cabernet from the RHS.

 

Hi @mazambo . Yes, I'm sure a pot is out of the question. I don't think it would get much sun. Long summer evenings maybe. I'm sure I've had this discussion before. I might have to give it a miss. It's a shame because I'm sure it would have looked good.

G

 

@Jack Sparrow conflicting advice i know but having googled "do mahonia grow in shade" there are a few sites that suggest they do, maybe it would be worth a try.

 

HI am pinging this up the top again! I had a similar question, Mahonia 'Cabaret' for a bed which is technically in shade as it's north facing, but it's bright enough. It gets a little extra light in the summer months ie low afternoon or sunset light. Is it worth trying the Mahonia? I have already taken out a tree which really struggled there, and would like something about 1m-1.5 m tall, evergreen, which is quite structural as it's a fairly formal front garden. It will be planted relatively close to a hedge, and this worries me as plants tend to lean away from it so I was looking for something resolutely upright! Everything but everything I look at which is the right size etc seems to require a period of direct sunlight so if someone can point me in the right direction that would be very welcome. Libertia grandiflora anyone? Would it even flower? Help!

 

Mahonias are fine in shade and I haven’t noticed mine leaning yet, although I only planted them in October. You may find that the yellow varieties like M. Charity and M. Winter Sun are more robust than M. Cabaret. Multistemmed plants make a nice upright feature and can be easily pruned to a suitable size and shape.

 

I'll check those varieties out, thanks ]

 

Never seen an orange-red one like that, quite lovely. Our classic one is huge and enjoys a north facing bank well. Gorgeous in december when ours flowers.

 

We have cabaret that is in a similar position, northeast facing, shaded most of the time and with a bamboo hedge next to it. It's a healthy plant, flowers well but hasn't put on much growth yet. I don't know if that is due to the conditions or if like many other mahonia species, it's just slow growing.
I like the plant and it looks lovely when flowering but because it flowers in the late summer, you don't get that winter cheer like you do with the yellow cultivars Plantminded mentions.

 

M. Cabaret is a compact variety, growing up to 1.5m, a bit like M. Soft Caress. The yellow varieties I mentioned are larger, H 2.5-4m, S 2.5-4m. I recently considered most commonly available varieties and opted for Winter Sun, for the size, colour and timing of flowering which is welcome at the dark time of year as @Thevictorian says. They are easy, tough shrubs.