Nandina domestica Gulf Stream - Sacred Bamboo

Nandina domestica 'Gulf Stream', also known as Sacred Bamboo, is an evergreen bush that is very elegant, with dense and changing vegetation. It is a compact variety with highly ornamental foliage, evolving throughout the seasons from spring purple-pink, to summer bronze-green, and ending beautifully in autumn with red-orange. The summer flowering, in clusters of small white flowers, often coincides with the fruiting of the previous year in clusters of intense red fruits. This original and graphic bush can be used in borders, as a standalone plant, in informal hedges, and will be well showcased in a large pot on the terrace.

The 'Gulf Stream' Sacred Bamboo belongs to the family of Berberidaceae. It is a recently obtained cultivar from the Nandina domestica native to India, China, and Japan. The growth of this small bush is quite slow and its adult size will not exceed m (3 to 4ft) in height. This plant forms a small bush with upright and branching stems resembling bamboo, with spread foliage on a fairly round silhouette. Its vegetation is dense, compact, but slender and beautifully rounded. The plant is beautiful all year round: its young purple-pink shoots then produce narrow, pink-purple leaves during budding, which then turn acid green tinged with bronze in summer, and finally red-orange in autumn. In June-July, it produces small conical panicles of white-cream flowers. These are followed by clusters of very decorative bright red fruits, if the summer is long and hot enough. They persist for a long time on the branches, creating a joyful scene in the winter light. The root of this plant is a rootstock.

Nandina domestica 'Gulf Stream' is particularly admirable in large plantations. It can be associated, as desired, with tree peonies, Rudbeckias, Spiraea japonica 'Little Princess', Euphorbia griffithii 'Fire Glow', crocosmias, or daylilies. Each of these scenes will be a success. This small bush will also be magnificent in a large pot on the terrace, in a non-burning exposure and by following the watering. In a flowering hedge, it can be accompanied by Kolwitzia amabilis, Viburnum tinus, Lespedeza thunbergii, or Abelia grandiflora.