Rhaphiolepis indica 'Parharp'

Rhaphiolepis Oriental Pear in Davis in April, 2020. Photo: J Sisneroz

Summary

South Coast Research & Extension Center (South Coast REC/SCREC) is located in Irvine California, this site has a sandy loam soil and plants are irrigated with reclaimed water. UC Davis is located in Davis, California, this site has a silty clay loam soil and plants are irrigated with potable water. More information about the field sites is located in the Nuts & Bolts section.

Oriental Pearl is a dense compact form of this species with deep green, ovate leaves typical of this shrub. White flowers appeared on some shrubs in April and May, but only a few bloomed heavily, which we think is more a reflection of the limited amount of time these long-lived perennials had been in the ground rather than the cultivar’s potential. When digging them up at the end of the trial, we also noticed that some specimens had severe root girdling from poor propagation methods at the nursery stage, and this certainly could also have affected their performance in this trial. Oriental Pearl in Davis outperformed plants in Irvine, where plants had acceptable appearance most of the year, but developed necrotic leaf tips and leaf loss as the season progressed. Plants had good to very good appearance in Davis on all treatments throughout the year. Since irrigation treatment had no significant effect on growth or appearance at either site, we recommend irrigation for Oriental Pearl at the low level in WUCOLS Regions 2 and 3.

Rhaphiolepis Oriental Pearl on low water at SCREC in July 2020. Photo: D Martinez

Basic Info

Growth and Quality Data

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Rhaphiolepis Oriental Pearl on low water at SCREC in Oct. 2020 showing some leaf tip death. Photo: D Martinez

Rhaphiolepis Oriental Pearl in Davis on low water in Oct. 2020 showing no signs of stress. Photo: J Sisneroz