Carried by 26 nurseries
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Coast silktassel (Garrya elliptica) is an evergreen shrub that flowers in January or February, with very long flower clusters that cascade downward as catkins. The pendant male catkins are much more showy. They are about a foot long and grey-green. The female catkins are shorter and silver-grey. The leaves have a tough leathery feel, glossy green on top and remain year round. This shrub also has a dense and tidy form, growing moderately fast to about 12 feet tall and 6 to 10 feet wide.
It takes full sun, except in hot inland locations where it likely will need some shade, and infrequent to occasional summer water. It prefers well-draining soil but tolerates clay and serpentine soil. It makes a great informal hedge or small tree and can be cut back (espaliered) to grow almost flat against a wall or fence.
Shrub
6 - 16 ft Tall
6 - 10 ft Wide
Rounded
Fast, Moderate
Evergreen
Green, Cream, White
Winter
Hedge
Full Sun, Partial Shade
Very Low
Max 3x / month once established
Moderate
Tolerates cold to 0 - 10° F
Fast, Medium, Slow
Tolerates clay soil.
Tolerates serpentine soil..
Soil PH: 6.0 - 8.0
Seeds or cuttings. For propagating by seed: 3 mos. stratification.
4, 5*, 6, 7, 8, 9, 14*, 15*, 16*, 17*, 18, 19, 20*, 21*, 22*, 23*, 24
Seacliffs, dunes, foothills below 2000 feet, usually close to the coast where it occurs as part of northern chaparral or coastal scrub or in the understory of evergreen forest. Also on Santa Cruz Island.
Chaparral, Mixed Evergreen Forest, Northern Coastal Scrub
Manzanita (Arctostaphylos spp.), Ceanothus spp., Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia), Scrub Oak (Quercus berberidifolia), Coffee Berry (Frangula spp.), Hummingbird Sage (Salvia spathacea), Yerba Buena (Clinopodium douglasii), and Bluff Lettuce (Dudleya farinosa)