Rhamnus lycioides Care
Rhamnus lycioides
An evergreen shrub typical of Mediterranean maquis, extremely tolerant of drought, heat and calcareous soils. Ideal for forming impenetrable hedges and for zero-maintenance xeric gardens.
Monthly care calendar
Timings are for a temperate Northern Hemisphere climate. In warmer areas tasks start earlier, in colder areas later; in the Southern Hemisphere shift them by six months.
- Pruning: If it is used as a hedge, this is the best time for shaping or thinning pruning.
- General care: Do not interfere with its natural form.
- Pruning: While dormant, remove dry, broken, crossing and inward-growing branches so that air and light reach the inside of the crown.
- General care: This is a suitable time for planting. There is no need to amend the soil.
- Frost risk: Protect newly planted seedlings from severe frosts.
- Watering: Only for newly planted seedlings, if it stays dry, give a single rescue watering of 5-10 L.
- General care: It produces small, inconspicuous flowers that are important for bees.
- General care: It is in its active growth period.
- Watering: In a long drought, water deeply once a month.
- General care: It needs no care; this is the period when it is hardiest.
- Watering: In midsummer, deep watering every 15-20 days is enough. Established plants (over 2 years old) do not need watering in most years. Water the area around the roots to a depth of 15-20 cm.
- General care: It requires no care even in the hottest and driest months.
- Watering: In midsummer, deep watering every 15-20 days is enough. Established plants (over 2 years old) do not need watering in most years. Water the area around the roots to a depth of 15-20 cm.
- Watering: In a long drought, water deeply once a month.
- General care: Its fruits (red at first, then black) ripen and are an important food source for wildlife.
- General care: For growing from seed, ripe fruits can be collected.
- General care: Collect fallen leaves; many disease agents and pests overwinter under leaves.
- Frost risk: Protect the roots of newly planted seedlings during the first winter.
- Pruning: If needed, prune to correct hedges or shape the plant.
The care advice on this page is general and for information only; it is not professional advice. Plant age, soil and your garden’s microclimate can change the outcome. Plant protection products are mentioned only as general information; they are regulated, and the choice, dose and timing must be decided by a qualified professional under local rules. Consult a landscape architect or agronomist before applying.
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