Sienna Sunrise® Heavenly Bamboo

Follow a regular watering schedule during the first growing season to establish a deep, extensive root system. Feed with a general purpose fertilizer before new growth begins in spring. For a tidy, neat appearance, shear annually to shape.

Use nandina to add year around color to all green shrub borders needing a pick me up. Use in its traditional bamboo-like application in Asian gardens with the lower stems pruned clean. Particularly beautiful in classic glazed Chinese ceramic pots. Ideal for pizzaz in shade garden compositions to stand out sharply against variegated or silver leaf foliage. Consummate foundation plant that won't outgrow its space.

Nandina with its vivid color blends well with other green Asian garden plants such as Dwarf Mugo Pine, (Pinus mugo pumilio), Dwarf Japanese Garden Juniper, (Juniperus procumbens 'Nana') and Aztec Grass, (Liriope muscari 'Aztec Grass'). For modern gardens, group it with Regal Mist Deer Grass, (Muhlenbergia capillaris 'Regal Mist'), Arabian Lilac, (Vitex trifolia 'Purpurea'), Purple Emperor Butterfly Bush, (Buddleja davidii 'Purple Emperor'), and Marjorie Channon Kohuhu, (Pittosporum tenuifolium 'Marjorie Channnon').

This new variety was introduced in 2003 by Monrovia Nursery Co., Azusa, CA. It is derived from a broadleaf shrub native to Asia often called heavenly bamboo even though it is not related to that grass. It has been avidly cultivated in Japan for centuries and sixty different named cultivars are known there. These plants were first described by Engelbert Kaempher of the Dutch East India Company in his 17th century work on Japan: Amoenitates Exoticae. The genus and species where classified by Thunberg who derived it from the Japanese name for the plant, nan-ten or nandi-na. Although the early information on origins point to Japan, the first Nandina introduced to the west in 1804, and was brought from Canton by William Kerr.

In the summer of 1996, Mike Farrow, owner of Holly Hill Farms in Earleville, Maryland, discovered this living gem. A ravenous beauty with a tight, compact growth habit that naturally requires minimal maintenance. An amazing array of fiery colors grace the foliage ranging from red, orange and yellow to bronzy tones, remniscent of a beautiful sunrise.