Habit (mature) · Agnieszka Kwiecien (Nova) / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Limited coverage
Creeping mahonia
Mahonia repens
A low, ground-hugging evergreen shrub of the Rocky Mountain West (also called creeping Oregon grape; NC State files it under the synonym Berberis repens). It spreads by underground stems into a holly-leaved mat 12-24 inches tall, with blue-green pinnate compound foliage that flushes bronze-to-purple-red in winter, fragrant yellow flower clusters in spring, and glaucous blue-black grape-like berries in summer. Tough, cold-hardy, and shade- and drought-tolerant once established — among the best evergreen native groundcovers for dry shade.
Review: Source-backed
Climate fit: moderate (54/100)
Border
Pollinator
Edible
Light
Full sun / Part shade
Water
Moderate water
Mature size
12-24" tall · 12" apart
Hardy in zones
4b-9b
very cold to frosty winters
Native in Illinois
No
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Fragrant yellow flower clusters open in early spring and are worked by early-emerging native bees; an important early-season nectar and pollen source.
Cold hardiness
Future
These values are location-based: this location's current hardiness is the baseline, and the 2050 value is a projected future climate for this same location.
Now
Zone 6b
USDA
Published baseline for this location from 1991-2020.
Source: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023 (1991-2020 climatology) via ArcGIS FeatureServer
Well-suited
2050
Zone 7a
Plotwright
Projected zone for this same location in 2050 (2041-2070) using SSP3-7.0 (regional rivalry).
Well-suited
In plain terms: This location is in Zone 6b today. Its hardiness profile is cold winters, and coldest nights are typically around -3°F. By 2050, the projected hardiness zone is Zone 7a based on SSP3-7.0 (regional rivalry). That is a +0.5-zone shift from Zone 6b to Zone 7a by 2050.
✓
Well-suited today and still thriving in 2050.
Heat tolerance
Future
Heat tolerance values are location-based too: heat days today are observed at this site, and the 2050 value projects this same location under a future climate.
Loading AHS heat-zone data for this location...
Where this plant fits
Suitable across 41 ecoregions — 40 climate-resilient through 2070 · 1 suited today. Best matches first.
Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests
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Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests
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Arizona Mountains forests
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Atlantic coastal pine barrens
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Blue Mountains forests
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Canadian Aspen forests and parklands
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Central Pacific Northwest coastal forests
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Central Tallgrass prairie
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Central-Southern Cascades Forests
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Chilean Matorral
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Sources & citations
Cite this page
For lesson plans, articles, or research that uses this page. To cite a single upstream fact instead, use its specific source listed below.
Plotwright. (2026, May 17). Creeping mahonia (Mahonia repens). Retrieved 2026, June 13, from https://plotwright.garden/plants/mahonia-repens
Sources for every fact
Every fact on this page traces to a source. 18 fields cited — 18 source-backed.
NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox
University extension service
Backs 17 fields
Identity
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Plant type
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Community photos
The photos above are our reviewed reference set, curated for accuracy.