‘NCMH2’ is a new cultivar of Mahonia with a compact habit, narrow evergreen foliage, showy red and yellow flowers and red new foliage color.

Latin name of the genus and species: The Latin name of the novel, ornamental plant variety disclosed herein isMahonia.

Variety denomination: The inventive cultivar ofMahoniadisclosed herein has been given the varietal denomination ‘NCMH2’.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention comprises a new and distinctMahoniacultivar hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name ‘NCMH2’. This newMahonia, ‘NCMH2’, was selected from a population of seedlings grown from an open-pollinated hybrid NCSU H2009-018-063 (unpatented). The first asexual propagation of ‘NCMH2’ was carried out in December 2014 by rooting stem cuttings in Mills River, N.C. and has been asexually reproduced repeatedly by vegetative cuttings over a 5-year period. ‘NCMH2’ roots from semi-hardwood and hardwood cuttings were treated with a basal dip of 6,000-10,000 ppm indole butyric acid (potassium salt) in water. ‘NCMH2’ has been found to retain its distinctive characteristics through successive asexual propagations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

‘NCMH2’ is distinguishable from otherMahoniacultivars, when grown under standard horticultural practices in Mills River, N.C., by its compact habit; narrow, evergreen foliage; showy racemes with multicolored flowers that bloom sporadically throughout fall, winter, and spring; and showy red new foliage.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

AlthoughMahoniaspecies are sometimes classified asBerberis, the most recent taxonomic treatment by Yu and ChungTaxon66(6):1371-1392 (2017) classifiesMahoniaandBerberisas separate genera. The following is a detailed description of the botanical characteristics of the new and distinctMahoniavariety plant known by the denomination ‘NCMH2’. All colors cited herein refer to The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart designations (The Royal Horticultural Society (R.H.S.), London, Sixth Edition (2016). Where specific dimensions, sizes, colors, and other characteristics are given, it is to be understood that such characteristics are approximations or averages set forth as accurately as practicable.

The detailed descriptions reported herein were taken in 2019 from a three-year-old container-grown plant that was grown in Mills River, N.C. under standard horticultural practices.Mahonia‘NCMH2’ has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions; therefore, the phenotype may vary under different environmental conditions such as season, temperature, light intensity, day length, cultural conditions, and the like, without however, any variance in the genotype.

TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE VARIETY

COMPARISON WITH PARENTAL SPECIES