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Shiny Xylosma

Shiny Xylosma

Xylosma congestum

Item #7695 USDA Hardiness Zone: 8 - 11

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Plant Description

Versatile hedge or screening plant displays bronzy young foliage on spreading, gracefully arching branches. Takes shearing well, easily trained as espalier. Tolerates heat. Evergreen.

  • Overview
    Light Needs:
    Partial to full sun
    Watering Needs:
    Water regularly in extreme heat; less often, once established.
    Average Landscape Size:
    Moderate grower to 10 to 12 ft. tall and wide.
    Key Feature:
    Hedge Plant
    Blooms:
    Inconspicuous
    Landscape Uses:
    Container, Espalier, Privacy Screen, Windbreak, Woodland Garden
  • Detail
    Botanical Pronunciation:zi-LOS-ma kon-GES-tum
    Plant type:Shrub
    Deciduous/evergreen:Evergreen
    Growth habit:Spreading
    Growth rate:Moderate
    Average landscape size:Moderate grower to 10 to 12 ft. tall and wide.
    Special features:Bird Friendly, Easy Care, Ornamental Berries, Waterwise, Year-round Interest
    Foliage color:Green
    Blooms:Inconspicuous
    Garden styleContemporary
    Design IdeasXylosma can be used as either a shrub or small tree in the landscape. Makes a fine natural hedge gently pruned to size or it will adapt to mild shearing for a more formal appearance. Allow it to grow naturally for a shiny light green background for beds and borders. Excellent for breaking up long fence lines or for de-emphasizing large multistory walls in foundation planting.
    Companion PlantsShrub Rose (Rosa); Passion Vine (Passiflora); Purple Hopseed Bush (Dodonaea); Lantana (Lantana); Crape Myrtle (Lagerstroemia)
  • Care
    Care Information
    Follow a regular watering schedule during the first growing season to establish a deep, extensive root system. Water deeply, less frequently, once established. Feed with a general purpose fertilizer before new growth begins in spring. For a tidy, neat appearance, shear annually to shape.Pruning time: spring.
    Light Needs:
    <strong>Partial Sun / Partial Shade</strong>: These two terms are often used interchangeably to mean 3-6 (or 4-6) hours of sunlight each day. However, there is a difference. <strong>Partial shade</strong> typically means the plants will appreciate a more gentle exposure such as the weaker morning or early afternoon sun, with the emphasis on providing the minimum needed shade and sheltering from intense late afternoon sun. <strong>Partial sun</strong> typically means the plants <u>need</u> some direct sun, so the emphasis is on meeting the required minimum hours of sunlight, with filtered sunlight or shade the balance of the day. Both are best with shelter from the harshest late afternoon sun. This shade could be provided by a structure, a wall, larger plants or tree(s).
    Partial to full sun
    Watering Needs:
    Water needs: Moderate
    Water regularly in extreme heat; less often, once established.
  • History & Lore
    History:
    This genus contains about one hundred species of evergreens found everywhere in the tropics and subtropics except Africa. The plant was discovered in China by Portuguese Jesuit missionary Juan Louriero, 1715-1796 whose descriptions reached Dutch botanist Friedrich Miquel. However, the final classification was made by English botanists at Kew Gardens or via the London Horticultural Society.
    Lore:
    When in bloom, xylosmas draw bees in droves which makes this shrub vital in wildlife gardens and an undesirable plant near swimming pools.