General

Shrub

by  •  • 5 Comments

Click any photo to see a larger view

Hi All,
Its not a daffodil but this shrub on our roadside border creates considerable interest from passers by. It is not common in New Zealand. I wonder if any of you can tell us something about the shrub.
Dave

5 comments for “Shrub”

  1. Hi, I just sent some photos of a shrub. I downsized them so that they would go through Daffnet. Now that I have received them when I try to enlarge them they go out of focus. Please would someone help to get them right for us. Thanks.
    Dave
    —
  2. You are on to it Bob. It only took an hour to travel 12000 miles and return. I would like to know a little more of the origins of this shrub. We had it on the farm where I grew up but I only knew its name.
    Dave
    —

  3. I know nothing about it, but looked it up and it is spelled Garrya elliptica if you’re trying to find more info!
    Debbie Green in NC

  5. Hi Dave
    As stated by Deborah, it is a Garrya elliptica, commonly known as the Tassel Bush.
     
    We’ve had one in our front garden for at least 20 years and the long (8 or 9 inch) tassels always attract comments from passers-by, especially as there are not many other interesting shrubs around during the early months of the year.  It’s an evergreen and grows quite happily against the fence, in almost full shade.  It’s reliably hardy down to at least -15C.  Winter 2009 was the coldest in the UK for very many years and we had temperatures of at least -12C and it wasn’t affected in any way.
     
    I have seen Garryas which are 20 feet tall but, because of very limited space, I prune mine very hard each year to keep it at around 8 feet.  Pruning usually result in clouds of pollen being released which does my hay-fever no favours! The Garrya is growing next to a Eucalyptus gunnii so there is a nice contrast between the dark glossy foliage and the glaucous leaves of the Eucalyptus.  Even so, there is a Clematis growing through the Garrya in order to brighten it up a bit during the summer.
     
    At the time of purchase, only one cultivar, ‘James Roof’, was widely available but I don’t know if others are on the market now.
     
    I’ve attached a picture, taken in March 2009, of some of the catkins.
    Kind regards.
    Pat and Tony 

Comments are closed.