Pernettya mucronata, My Favorite Plant in the Garden this Week

I love this plant so much that although my garden already has this beautiful specimen, I bought another last time I visited Vassey Nursery!    What's not to love.  The tiny rich green leaves are never alone on the plant as they are always joined by flowers and/or berries.  The spring floral show is very nice and often the berries from last year cling to the plant through the bloom cycle and into the new fruit production.  

 

I first read about this plant in Dan Hinkley's book Winter Ornamentals  in which he writes the following:  "A genus of evergreen shrubs knows as Pernettya is found natively in south America, New Zeland, and Tasmania, although many species thrive in the maritime Northwest...P. mucronata, with small, dark green, needlelike leaves densely covering upright stems of cherry red.  In late spring, bright white flowers are pervasively tucked among the foliage, yet it is not unti9l late autumn that the resultant succulent fruit ripens to shades of red, pink, or white.  This low- to medium-sized species easily gains in stature to 5 feet.  Remove vigorous upright stems to easily control it as a medium-high ground-covering shrub that remains in fruit throughout the autumn and into winter."   My original plant seems to be content staying at about 3 feet all by itself. 

 The taxonomists are at it again and Gaultheria mucronata is synonymous with Pernettya mucronata although Gaultheria is a large family of which Pernettya is a member.  Then there's  Gaultheria  x wisleyensis 'Wisley Pearl' that is lovely and sometimes confused with Pernettya in the trade. Often, at this time of year, we see Gaultheria procumbens, (creeping wintergreen) another member of the tribe used in mixed pots. But I digress and Mr. Hinkley is far more interesting.

 "All Pernettya species benefit from full-sun situations and acidic soils.  Once established, they do not require summer water.  Because individual plants may be either male or female or may have flowers of both sexes, you may not need to have more than one plant to have fruit.  However, chances for a larger crop of colorful berries are enhanced if you plant both sexes."

Ideal companions are other acid-loving plants, such as Erica (heaths) and Calluna (heathers), Gaultheria, and Rhododendron.  Pernettya fruit is edible, though it imparts more of a colorful and refreshing squeeze of moisture than real taste."

For more great information about this plant, visit Paghat's Garden here and for the fun an informative and funny article "Are Pernettya Berries Edible or Poisonous" go here.

I'm joining other garden bloggers in the My Favorite Plant This Week meme hosted by Loree at Danger Garden.