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.
Light Needs:
Partial to full sun
Watering Needs:
Needs regular watering - weekly, or more often in extreme heat.
Average Landscape Size:
Moderate grower to 10 to 12 ft. tall and wide.
Key Feature:
Hedge Plant
Blooms:
Inconspicuous
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:Attracts Birds, 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 PlantsEvergreen xylosma belongs with bright warm climate bloomers such as Rainbow Knock Out Rose, (Rosa x 'Radcor'), Lavender Lady Passionflower, (Passiflora x 'Lavender Lady'), Patriot Rainbow Compact Lantana, (Lantana camara 'Robpatrai') and Catawba Crepe Myrtle, (Lagerstroemia indica 'Catawba').
Care Information
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.Pruning time: spring.Light Needs:
Partial to full sun
Watering Needs:
Needs regular watering - weekly, or more often in extreme heat.
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.
There are very few rules in gardening, but perhaps the most important one is to work within your zone. Choosing plants that grow and thrive in your particular climate is the very first step toward having a beautiful garden.
