Nandina domestica is in a genus of its own (Nandina). It’s an evergreen to semi-evergreen shrub native to maintain valleys in India, China and Japan. Nandina comes from the Japanese word ‘nanten’ which means southern sky, while ‘domestica’ means domesticated as the plant has been grown for centuries by humans. The spread is 2 metres tall by 1.5 metres tall.

It is a tough plant that has a rhizome under the ground. It’s rate of growth is relatively slow.

This shrub is semi to fully evergreen with upright stems and pinnate to tripinnate leaves, up to 90 cm long. Leaflets are lance-shaped. They are reddish-purple when young and often have a reddish tinge in winter too.

The flowers appear in summer. The white, star-shaped flowers (to 1cm across) are in conical panicles, to 40cm long. Anthers are bright yellow and large. They are followed by red berries that are toxic to animals, including your dogs and cats, when ingested.

Growing this shrub requires a generally sheltered area with moist, well-drained soil. They prefer full sun, but can grow in semi-shade (but I’ve not seen them get the red colour of their leaves in semi-shade). They need minimal pruning, but can be trimmed if the symmetry is a bit out (only if that bothers you, of course).

To propagate, sow seeds in containers as soon as they are ripe. You can also root semi-ripe cuttings in the summer.

I haven’t really seen any pest or disease problems with this plant, but it can potentially get a virus that causes leaf distortion.

While this isn’t my favourite plant in the world, many people seem to like it. It can add colour with its leaves, flowers and berries while needing little maintenance at all.