Agarita
Mahonia trifoliolataAgarita is a shrub native to the Texas Hill Country that grows 3–7 ft tall and 6 ft wide. It wants full sun or part shade and low water, and handles caliche and clay soil. Blooms yellow in Feb–Apr. Evergreen — it holds its leaves through winter. Deer rarely browse it. Good for birds.
Will it grow in your yard?
Enter your ZIP. The finder checks Agarita against your microclimate, then ranks it against your sun, your watering and deer pressure.
From our guide
Village of the HillsSpiny blue-gray evergreen shrub with holly-like leaves, fragrant yellow flowers in late winter, and red berries in spring.
Why it works here
One of the earliest nectar sources of the year, impenetrable nesting cover, and edible berries. Deer will not touch it.
Watch out
Genuinely prickly. Do not plant near a walkway. Harvest berries by shaking onto a sheet.
The facts
5 sources- Type
- Shrub
- Sun
- Full sun to part shade (4–8 hrs of direct sun)
- Water
- Low
- Height
- 3–7 ft
- Spread
- 6 ft
- Bloom
- Feb–Apr · yellow
- Foliage
- Evergreen
- Soil
- Takes caliche and clay · recorded on caliche, clay, dry, limestone, loam, well drained
- Deer
- High — deer rarely browse it. Spiny; impenetrable
- Wildlife
- Supports birds
Where it grows
Recorded in these EPA Level IV ecoregions in the Austin and Hill Country launch area:
Can you buy it?
In the Village of the Hills guide, but not on the grower stock lists we read yet. Ask a native-plant nursery.