Poet’s Laurel (Danae racemosa)

The winter garden is revealing itself. Fallen leaves, red berries, and bare branches abound. Conifers and broad leafed evergreens keep color in the garden in winter.
The arboretum has a stand of narrow leafed evergreen shrubs that are beautiful now. Poet’s Laurel (Danae racemosa) has rich green leaves that are about two to four inches long and ¼ to 1 ½ inches wide. The leaves are really modified stems and have the same green color on both sides. They are held close to the stem with almost no stalk. This is a small shrub that grows two to four feet high and wide. It has an upright spreading habit, prefers moist, well-drained soil and must have shade. The flowers are inconspicuous, but they produce showy orange-red berries. The foliage is a great addition to arrangements of cut flowers or other plant material. The stems are graceful and last a long time in water.
This shrub is hardy in zones 7 to 9.

Poet’s Laurel is a slow grower. The arboretum has a well established bed of these shrubs. The arching green branches grace the arboretum all year, but are especially noticeable when other branches are bare.