Nandina, Heavenly Bamboo 'Gulf Stream'

planted a small specimen around 5 or 6 years ago and its almost 7 foot in height. You need to give it as much sun as possible for leaf co...Read Morelour, maybe not so much in summer but in autumn , winter and spring it should get as much direct sun as possible. I planted it under decidious trees next to decidious shrubs so i gets enough direct sun most seasons.

normal leaf colour is not dark green like most nandina , it is not as bright as ''firepower'' but not as dark as 'obsessed seika' , its somewhere in the middle and it really blends in nice with other plants it gives a more natural look. in summertime the leaf coloration is less anyway, but in winter it turns into a orange colour , not red like most pictures show. new spring foliage colour is also orange, its never overpowering or too bright like other nandinas. the foliage is semi-delicate and somewhat daimond shaped - and unlike '' firepower '' moves nicely with the wind, it makes a rustling sound.

its overall appearance and feeling is more'' zen '' like , it blends in without getting lost and it has beautiful colorations that are never overpowering. it also has a good amount of flowers when mature, most nurseries say it doesn't grow berries but this is partly false.

When mature it sometimes have a low amount of berries, i also have seen specimen that carry a good amount of berries but in general is very unreliable in that regard. one year i had berries and next 2 years i did not had any, if you want berries expect dissapointment. Height is different it can easily reach 7 or 8 foot , probably even higher. most information sources say this is a low shrub but this is completely false. it is a very slow growing shrub but it can reach large sizes.

i usually prune all small branches that come up from the roots , i try to get a thick woody stem or trunk because i think its better looking that way.

in the end its what the person likes , if you like dark colour with alot of contrast go for obsessed seika, if you like as much bright colours at possible in every season go for firepower. if you want something that is more muted but does add interest without affecting balance in the shrub border get gulfstream. gulstream has orange as dominant colour which i haven't seen with other nandina.

it is compact..but honestly most nandina cultivars are compact , only the non cultivar version can be very wide. i got both firepower and gulfstream they are both compact , firepower reaches less height and gulfstream reaches more height without losing its compact shape. both are in a very small garden and both perfrom reallly well without affecting the performance of plants around them.