Nandina domestica 'Gulf Stream'

Common name: Heavenly Bamboo 'Gulf Stream'

Description: Nandina domestica 'Gulf Stream' is a superbly compact and exceptionally ornamental cultivar of the Heavenly Bamboo, a plant that despite its common name is entirely unrelated to true bamboos but shares something of their elegant, refined, and distinctly exotic character. 'Gulf Stream' is widely regarded as one of the finest and most garden-worthy selections of this versatile evergreen shrub, offering a quite remarkable succession of foliage colour and interest across every season of the year that makes it one of the most reliably rewarding compact shrubs available to British gardeners. The finely divided, pinnate leaves emerge in spring in vivid shades of coppery-orange and red-bronze before maturing through the summer months to a fresh, bright mid-green that gives the plant a lush and pleasantly tropical quality during the warmest part of the year. As temperatures begin to fall in autumn and into winter, the foliage undergoes its most spectacular transformation, suffusing progressively with rich shades of red, scarlet, and fiery orange-red that intensify as the cold deepens, turning the entire compact mound into a glowing beacon of winter colour at a time when such warmth and vibrancy in the garden is most precious and welcome. Small clusters of creamy-white flowers may be produced in summer on mature plants, occasionally followed by small red berries, though the foliage is unquestionably the principal attraction of this outstanding cultivar. The naturally neat, dome-shaped habit requires little or no pruning, making 'Gulf Stream' an outstandingly low-maintenance shrub of exceptional four-season appeal.

Other benefits: outstanding four-season foliage interest with spring copper, summer green, and vivid winter red colouring; compact, naturally neat dome-shaped habit requiring minimal maintenance; year-round evergreen structure; excellent in mixed borders, contemporary schemes, and container plantings; long-lived and reliably rewarding in a wide range of garden settings

Wildlife attraction: bees and other pollinating insects when in flower; berries occasionally attractive to birds

Height & spread (approx.) at 10 years: 0.9m x 0.9m

Position: full sun to partial shade; foliage colour is most vivid and intensely coloured, particularly the winter reds, in a sunny, open position; tolerates partial shade well though autumn and winter colouring may be less intense

Soil pH: adaptable; performs well in neutral to slightly acid soils; pH 5.5–7.0; avoid thin, dry, or very alkaline conditions; benefits from humus-rich, fertile soil

Moisture: moderate watering required, particularly when establishing and during dry spells; prefers consistently moist but well-drained, fertile soil; tolerates periods of drought once established; avoid waterlogging

Winter hardiness: hardy to approximately -10°C to -15°C in a sheltered position; may sustain some foliage damage in the hardest and most prolonged winters but will regenerate reliably; benefits from a sheltered position in colder inland regions of the UK