How to Grow and Care for Nandina

Despite its name, heavenly bamboo is not actually bamboo at all but a semi-evergreen shrub. It gains its name because a casual observer may mistake it for actual bamboo. The bright red berries are a key distinguishing feature of this plant. They should be avoided, however, since they are toxic to most animals and humans alike.

Heavenly bamboo 'Twilight' is a Heavenly bamboo cultivar, prized for its multi-seasonal interest, provided by its spectacular foliage, as well as its neat growth habit. The leaves of this popular ornamental plant open pink and bronze and eventually become green with prominent creamy and pink variegations, unlike the parent plant which has solid leaves.

Heavenly bamboo 'Aka' is a cultivar of heavenly bamboo known also as the Blush Pink, discovered in 2004 as an unintentional variant of the Firepower cultivar. This bamboo cultivar was named for its full, rich, red-purple foliage, which makes it very striking in a garden. The cultivar doesn’t flower, but gardeners still enjoy it for its beauty and resistance to pests.

Despite its name, heavenly bamboo 'Fire Power' is no Bamboo, but rather a cultivar of Barberry. After bearing small white flowers in summer, this cultivar develops compound leaves overlaid with tones of red and orange in autumn, accounting for its common name. Later, the flowers develop into small red fruits as the leaves wither and fall. As this cultivar possesses an unusually compact habit, some classify it as an ideal hedging plant.