Nandina domestica Plum Passion - Sacred Bamboo

Nandina domestica 'Plum Passion', also known as 'Monum' sacred bamboo, is an evergreen bush, elegant, with dense and changing vegetation. It is a recent horticultural variety with very fine foliage that evolves throughout the seasons from spring purple to summer green, ending in beautiful red-purple in autumn. The summer flowering, in clusters of small white flowers, often coexists with the intense red fruiting of the previous year, above the evergreen foliage. This original and graphic bush can be used in borders, as a standalone plant, as informal hedging and will be well showcased in a large pot on the terrace.

The 'Plum Passion' sacred bamboo belongs to the Berberidaceae family. It is a recently obtained cultivar from the Nandina domestica native to India, China and Japan. The growth of this small tree is quite slow and its adult size will not exceed 120cm (47.2in) in height and 90cm in width. This plant is a small bush with upright stems resembling those of bamboo and with spreading foliage, almost as wide as it is tall. Its vegetation is dense, compact, but slender and beautifully rounded. The plant is beautiful all year round: its young red-purple shoots then produce narrow, copper-red leaves at budbreak and in summer, which then become blue-green and finally burgundy red in autumn. In June-July, it produces small conical panicles of cream-white flowers. These are followed by clusters of very decorative bright red fruits, which 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 'Plum Passion' is particularly admirable in large plantings. It can be associated with choice shrubby peonies, Rudbeckia, Spiraea japonica 'Little Princess', Euphorbia griffithii 'Fire Glow', crocosmia 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 watering. In a flowering hedge, it can be accompanied by Kolwitzia amabilis, Viburnum tinus, Lespedeza thunbergii or Abelia grandiflora.

The sacred bamboo is related to barberries, and despite its common name, it has nothing to do with bamboo. Its slender and upright habit and its spindle-shaped leaves make it resemble bamboo. This bush, the only one of its genus, has been cultivated for centuries in Asia, planted around Taoist temples. Therefore, many varieties have emerged in Japan, for many of them, they are foliage modifications due to diseases (diseases).