Tassel Bush is a cultivated hybrid shrub that brings winter magic to temperate gardens. This evergreen reaches 8 to 10 feet tall with a graceful spreading habit, thriving in zones 7 through 9. What makes it truly special is its dramatic winter bloom, when glossy, wavy foliage is crowned with showy catkin inflorescences that unfurl from December through February, transforming the dormant season into a moment of botanical interest. As a hybrid cross between two Pacific coast natives, Garrya fremontii and Garrya elliptica, it combines the hardiness and adaptability of both parents into a single, remarkably resilient plant.
Partial Sun
Moderate
7-9
120in H x 96in W
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Low
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Tassel Bush delivers winter color when most gardens fade to gray. Its glossy evergreen foliage remains striking year-round, but the real drama unfolds in the colder months when catkin inflorescences dangle from the branches in a seasonal display. This hybrid selection outperforms its parent species in cold tolerance and drought resilience, making it unexpectedly low-maintenance once established. Unlike the tender Pacific natives it descends from, it genuinely thrives in zones 7 through 9 with minimal fussing.
Tassel Bush serves as an informal evergreen hedge, offering year-round structure and winter visual interest. Its rounded to slightly spreading form and moderate maintenance needs make it well-suited to foundation plantings and mixed borders where seasonal drama matters.
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“Tassel Bush exists because of careful horticultural intention rather than wild happenstance. Garrya fremontii and Garrya elliptica, both native to the Pacific coast of the United States, have never hybridized in nature, yet breeders recognized the potential to combine their best traits. The result is Garrya × issaquahensis, a cultivated interspecific hybrid that brings together the hardiness of one parent with the ornamental qualities of the other. This intentional cross created a shrub more tolerant of cold winters and dry soils than either wild ancestor, allowing gardeners far beyond the Pacific Northwest to enjoy tassel bush's winter performance.”