Toyon for Christmas

Toyon for Christmas

Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia) is a beautiful perennial shrub native throughout the western part of California and the Sierra foothills. It is a prominent component of the coastal sage scrub plant community and is a part of drought-adapted chaparral and mixed oak woodland habitats. It is also known by the common names Christmas berry and California Holly from the bright red berries it produces. The city of Hollywood was named for this plant.

It often grows to about 8 feet tall, but some spectacular specimens in the Los Padres National Forest are over 30 feet tall. Its leaves are evergreen, alternate, sharply toothed, and are 5 cm in length and 2 cm wide.

In early summer, it produces small white flowers 6mm diameter in dense bunches. The five petals are rounded. The fruit is small, bright red and berry-like, produced in large quantities, maturing in the fall and persisting well into winter. The flowers are visited by butterflies and other insects; they have a mild, hawthorn-like scent. The berries are consumed by birds, including mockingbirds, American robins, and cedar waxwings. Mammals including coyotes and bears also eat and disperse the berries.

Toyon berries are acidic and astringent, and contain a small amount of cyanogenic glycosides, which break down into hydrocyanic acid on digestion. This is removed by mild cooking. Raw berries are mealy, astringent and acid, though were eaten fresh, or mashed into water to make a beverage by Native Americans.

Toyon are beautiful plants and easy to grow. If properly situated, they can grow very quickly, up to 10 feet in three years. They like sun or part shade, though they tend to do better in part shade in the southern, drier part of their geographic range. They can handle a wide variety of soils, including clay, sand and serpentine, but need more moisture than most chaparral shrubs. They do well near seasonal creeks, seeps, bottom of slopes, or near irrigated areas. These plants tolerate a fair amount of summer water, up to 1x per week if the drainage is good. They are an excellent hedge plant.

Plant Description Plant Type: Shrub Size 6 – 30 ft tall 0 – 15 ft wide Form: Rounded Growth Rate: Fast, Moderate Dormancy: Evergreen Fragrance: Slight Flower Color: White Flowering Season: Summer Wildlife Supported: Bees are attracted to the flowers. Birds love the berries Butterflies & moths also hosted Landscaping Information Sun-Full Sun, Part Shade Moisture-Extremely Low, Very Low Summer Irrigation- Max 2x / month once established, never irrigate once established. Ease of Care-Very Easy Cold Tolerance- Tolerates cold to -5° F Soil Drainage-Fast, Medium, Slow Soil Description-Tolerant of a variety of soils. Tolerates Serpentine Soil. Soil PH: 5.0 – 8.0 Common uses-Bank Stabilization, Hedges, Deer Resistant, Bird Gardens, Butterfly Gardens Companion Plants Lemonadeberry (Rhus integrifolia), Manzanita (Arctostaphylos species), Ceanothus species, Milkweed (Asclepias species), Giant Wild Rye (Elymus condensatus), Sand Aster (Corethrogyne filaginifolia), Sagebrush (Artemisia californica), Monkeyflower (Mimulus species), Encelia californica, Buckwheat (Eriogonum species), Heartleaf Keckiella (Keckiella cordifolia), Penstemon species, Salvia species, Blue-eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium bellum) Maintenance Susceptible to fire blight. If it becomes leggy, you can cut it to the ground and it will regrow from the base. Propagation For propagating by seed: Fresh seeds need no treatment; stored seed 3 months. stratification. Sunset Zones 5, 7*, 8, 9, 14*, 15*, 16*, 17*, 18*, 19*, 20*, 21*, 22*, 23*, 24* Natural Setting Site Type Toyon is a common plant in chaparral and is found along creek sides, bottoms of slopes, north-facing slopes, and canyons. Climate Annual Precipitation: 7.0″ – 128.0″, Summer Precipitation: 0.13″ – 3.90″, Coldest Month: 33.5″ – 57.4″, Hottest Month: 53.5″ – 80.4″, Humidity: 0.22″ – 27.39″, Elevation: 0″ – 7419″ Common Names: California Holly, Christmas Berry