Distylium Planting & Care

Distyliums are hardy, adaptable, and pretty easy to grow. They're a nice choice instead of using boxwood, laurels, holly and juniper shrubs or any place you would like low maintenance evergreen shrubs.

Distyliums can thrive in many soil types, including heavy southern clay soils soil and prefer well drained acidic soil. Distylium can grow well in part to full sun conditions. 

Once you've selected where you want to plant your Distylium shrubs, dig your hole a minimum of 2  times as wide and not an excessive amount deeper than the rootball of your plant. If the rootball is stuck within the pot, cut the pot away and carefully loosen some feeder roots on the outside surface of the root ball. 

It is always a good idea, regardless of your soil type to amend it with potting soil and manure or similar fertilizer.  You should end up with roughly 50% original soil that you dug out and 50% combination of the potting soil and fertilizer.

Place your Distylium within the planting hole so the highest fringe of the rootball is at or slightly higher than ground level. Tamp the soil mixture as you back fill to avoid any air pockets. 

Deeply water the entire width of the planting area. To suppress weed growth and retain moisture, lay down a 2-inch layer of mulch.

Distylium Pruning

Distylium don't require much pruning, if at all. They do, however, respond well to pruning for shaping, so go at it if you want to. If you do prune your Distylium shrubs, do so in late winter or early spring before new growth emerges.

To avoid harming any new, tender growth it is best to, stop pruning Distylium shrubs roughly 2 months before the common first-frost date in your grow zone.