Not all that different from other cultivars of x media, although 'Winter Sun' is slightly more compact than most. Is reputed to have very fragrant flowers, but it will take someone with a more discerning nose than mine to confirm - personally I think the fragrance of most mahonias is pretty negligible. Bloom time is variable, depending on siting and weather factors - any of the winter blooming mahonias can start as early as November (several, including an established display plant of 'Charity' are already showing color at the nursery) lingering to February. And yes, overwintering Anna's love 'em.

Hi Gardengal48.

Thanks for the response. When I bought these plants they had different types of Mahonia x media in the same area, and the 'winter sun' was the only one that was no where near blooming. I don't know if this is because of when or where it was shipped or something else. Thank you for your imput. It's nice to know these plants won't end up blooming in April or May! That was my main concern. Sounds like your a fan of these plants as well. I am just getting started with them though. I have mainly planted a subtropical looking garden full of exotics, but I am backing off of that look a bit for a more well rounded garden. I am trying to get year round color and fragrance the best I can. The one thing I do that drives my wife crazy is avoid any decidous plants like the plague, but there is one or two I like that may find a hidden spot in the garden one day. Please forgive my terrible spelling at the start of this thread. I really know how to spell Grevillea, etc..I guess there is something missing between my brain and my fingers! Take care.

-Brian

I've seen a couple M. x media 'Winter Sun' which seemed to fit the bill, with good basal breaks and stunningly glaucous foliage. Both happened to be planted right against south-facing walls, one in Renton and the other in Seattle.

Later I saw some old M. bealei mis-signed as M. x media 'Winter Sun' at a local nursery, that had carried the hybrid cultivar previously.

An M. x media 'Charity' and an M. x media 'Winter Sun' I planted here, some time after the latter had made the rounds locally are developing into interchangeable specimens, with little branching (so far). Probably they are both M. x media 'Charity', one being mislabeled.

This week I noticed a low-forking, dense Mahonia x media producing a nice big bunch of flower spikes against a fence at the Greenlake Puget Consumers Co-Op. Possibly about the right size to be from the same distribution as the other two 'Winter Sun' I mentioned (and likewise right against a sunny surface!). If I was in touch with Carl Elliott I could ask him which cultivar it was.

He put other interesting things there so anyone having occasion to be in the vicinity should swing by and check it out, unlike perhaps all the other outlets in the chain this one has enough bed space for the plantings to amount to something. (The store has goodies of its own inside, of course).

Current 'Horticulture' has a one page article by D. Hinkley on less familiar mahonias.