Cercocarpus ledifolius
Common Name(s):
Mountain Mahogany
Curl Leaf Mountain Mahogany
Synonym:
Curl leaf mahogany
Flower:
Yellow
Blooms :
Apr
to:
May
Flowers are generally small, greenish yellow, trumpet-shaped, and pubescent. Flowers can also be white, red, yellow or green.
Botanical Description
Fragrant?
NO
Family:
Rosaceae
Med - Lg Shrub (usually >3' and never < 1.5')
Foliage:
Green
Small dark green leaves emerging from slender gray stems. Leaves are alternate, simple, often clustered at ends of spur-like shoots, 1.3-2.5 cm long, leathery, somewhat resinous, narrowly elliptical, acute at both ends, margins entire and turned under
Fall Color?
YES
Leaves turn russet
Evergreen
Photo by:
Heading 6
Broadleaf evergreen foliage, gnarly branch structure
Oregon Native?
YES
West State Native?
YES
Origins:
Oregon
Site Selection
Minimum USDA Hardiness Zone:
4
Water Needs:
VL
Sun Needs:
Full Sun
Deer Resistant?
NO
Firewise?
NO
Height:
10-15'
Spread:
10-15'
Growth Rate:
Slow
Native Habitat:
Curlleaf mountain-mahogany occupies habitats with low precipitation and extreme temperature ranges. Native ranges from the Sierra Nevada and the Cascade Range east to Montana and south to Colorado, northern Arizona, and Baja California, Mexico.
Soil:
Grow in average, dry to medium moisture, well-drained soil in full sun. Prefers a sandy clay soil and will tolerate drought once established.
Care Recommendations
Maintenance Level:
Low
Fertilizer:
It is nitrogen-fixing, requiring no fertilizer.
Mulch:
Pea gravel, crushed rock, decomposed granite
Hands off after planting
Long Term:
Winter:
Prune in winter; tolerates hedging or shearing (https://www.fs.fed.us/rm/boise/research/shrub/projects/GBNPSIP_TechNotes/Horticulture/HG_Native_Plants_2009-03.pdf)
Spring:
Do light shaping if needed, check soil drainage, keep extra watering low as flowers begin to bloom
Summer:
Limit supplemental watering to maximum of once per month, ensure sharp soil drainage, avoid heavy pruning
Fall:
Taper off summer watering, give plant one final deep watering in late autumn before ground freezes, do not fertilize or prune
General Care Comments:
Performs better in plantings where it is protected from competition by grasses or other herbaceous plants
Common Problems
Deep tap root so difficult to transplant, shade intolerance, slow initial growth rate
Diseases:
Insects:
Relatively free of disease and insects
Environmental Problems:
Pests:
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