Nandina domestica 'TWILIGHT' nandina, heavenly bamboo
Nandina
The genus Nandina is botanically remarkably modest, comprising a single species, Nandina domestica, which is unusual within the barberry family (Berberidaceae). It is native to East Asia, primarily China and Japan, where it grows in the understorey of open woodlands, along the margins of scrub, and in mountain valleys. The first scientific description was published in 1781 by Carl Peter Thunberg (1743–1828) in his Flora Japonica. Thunberg was a pupil of Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778) and described Nandina within the framework of Linnaeus’s system of scientific plant nomenclature, summarised in his seminal work Species Plantarum, on which botanical taxonomy still relies today. Nandina, however, does not appear there, as Linnaeus never encountered the plant and died three years before Thunberg’s description was published. No fossil records of the genus are known, suggesting a relatively recent evolutionary history, yet its cultural footprint is deep. In Asia, Nandina has been cultivated for centuries in temple gardens and urban courtyards as a symbol of good fortune, perseverance and protection of the home.
The species Nandina domestica is closely associated with human settlement, a relationship reflected in its specific epithet. Here, domestica does not imply domestication in the utilitarian sense familiar from fruit trees, but rather denotes a plant belonging to the household. Thunberg encountered Nandina primarily as a cultivated shrub in gardens, courtyards and temple precincts in Japan, rather than as a purely wild forest species, and this cultural context likely influenced its naming. In Japanese culture it is known as nanten (南天), meaning “southern heaven”, and it traditionally appears in New Year arrangements as a wish for good fortune. Nandina reached Europe in the nineteenth century as part of the fashionable wave of interest in new ornamental plants from East Asia, when botanical gardens and private collections systematically sought species from China and Japan that combined an exotic appearance with good adaptability to the European climate. In Czechia it is already mentioned by Bedřich Berchtold and Jan Svatopluk Presl in their work Rostlinář aneb O přirozenosti rostlin (The Herbal: On the Nature of Plants) as early as 1825.
Twilight nandina is a variegated beauty among heavenly bamboo varieties. It was found as a naturally occurring mutation of Gulf Stream variety by Neil Marek of Magnolia Gardens Nursery from Texas, USA, in 2010. In spring emerges clear pink foliage that quickly turns pure white before marbling appears. Mature leaves are both green and marbled white. In autumn comes another colour: coppery red. The pinnate leaves are composed of small, lance-shaped leaflets. It grows slowly into a dense yet fluffy shrub. The plant is evergreen in mild winters and semi-deciduous in colder regions. It is protected by European patent No. EU43076 from 2016, and PP26025 in the USA a year earlier when it won Gold Medal at Plantarium in the Netherlands.
Nandina prefers sunny to lightly shaded, warm sites and a well‑drained, humus‑rich soil. Although it originates from regions of East Asia with relatively high atmospheric and soil moisture, once established it is well tolerant of drought and is far more sensitive to winter waterlogging than to summer drought. Care is limited to occasional watering during prolonged summer droughts and before winter, particularly in young plants. It is not prone to significant diseases or pests. It is classified as evergreen to semi‑deciduous, meaning that in severe frosts it may lose part of its foliage, which is replaced in spring. Because the leaves are long and arise directly from the canes, their fall may give the impression that an entire “branch” has dropped. According to the breeder it is hardy to about -23°C (USDA zone 6) but we have not tested it in areas with constant cold wind or mountainous regions with long-lasting winters.
Last update 15-11-2020
474,05 Kč
474,05 Kč
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- STANDARD QUALITY - Plants of this group are 1st class quality with number of branches and overall density adequate to their size and age, considering they were container grown.
- DE LUXE QUALITY - This label guarantees a luxurious quality of manually selected plants that, compared to their height and age, are exceptionally dense and beautiful.
- EXTRA - These plants are usually mature and bigger specimens with exceptional overall appearance.
- STANDARD (as described in the plant form) means a tree with a trunk of 190-210 cm and a crown at the top, unless specified differently. The commercial size for trees is their girth measured in the height of 1m from ground.
- HOBBY - These plants are of the same quality as our standard-quality plants but younger and therefore cheaper.
- SHRUB - a woody plant with branches growing bushy from the ground level.
- HALF-STANDARD or MINI-STANDARD - a small tree with shorter trunk, its size is usually specified.
- FEATHERED - These are trees with branches growing already from the base of the trunk and up along the stem.
- GRASSES and PERENNIALS - Sizes given usually read the diameter of the pot or the clump, as specified.
