Tutsan

Tutsan: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Compact, bushy shrub about 80 cm tall and wide, with many upright stems; semi-evergreen.

Leaves

Oval, 5–10 cm, stalkless and opposite; fresh to dark green.

Flower

Open, yellow, 2–2.5 cm across, with five petals and a tuft of long stamens; in small clusters from June to August.

Fruit

Glossy, round berries that turn from green to red and then black; they stay on the shrub for a long time. Mildly poisonous.

Self-seeding

It self-seeds readily; seedlings also pop up elsewhere in the garden.

Flowering: June–August · Plants: March–April and October–November · Pruning: March

Why grow it?

• Grows and flowers in shade too, where few shrubs flower so freely.
• A long season of interest: flowers in summer, then red and black berries into autumn.
• The flowers provide pollen for bees and bumblebees; birds eat the ripe berries.
• Stems with berries look lovely in a bouquet.
• Tough and easy: it also tolerates clay, chalk and moist soil.
• One prune in March is enough.

Tutsan: where does it grow best?

• Partial shade or shade is ideal; full sun only if the soil stays moist.
• Sandy, loamy or clay soil, acid to chalky.
• Moist to damp: it tolerates wet spots, but not prolonged drought.
• Plant 60–80 cm apart; in a group it forms dense underplanting beneath trees.

Light

Partial shade and shade

Soil type

Sand, loam or clay

Acidity

Not fussy

Moisture

Normal or wet

Size

0.8 m tall, 0.8 m wide

Hardiness

Hardy (to -20 °C)

Goes well with

• Ferns: Fresh green underplanting in the same shade.
• Hosta: Large leaves as a calm contrast to the small yellow flowers.
• Siberian bugloss: Blue flowers in spring, before tutsan comes into bloom.
• Barrenwort: Ground cover for shade at the foot of the shrub.
• Japanese anemone: Flowers in late summer alongside the red and black berries.

Tutsan: when and how to plant it?

Plant in March–April and October–November.

1. Plant in March–April or October–November, when the soil is neither frozen nor too wet.
2. Dig a hole twice as wide as the root ball and mix in a little compost.
3. Set the plant at the same depth as it was in the pot and firm the soil well.
4. Space plants 60–80 cm apart.
5. Water in thoroughly and spread a mulch of leaf mould or wood chips around the base.

Care

Water

Water weekly in dry spells during the first year. After that, only in long dry periods.

Feeding

In March, after pruning, a thin layer of compost; nothing more is needed.

Mulching

Leaf mould or wood chips keep the soil cool and moist.

Berries

Leave them for the birds, or cut off some of the berrying stems if you want to limit self-seeding.

Containers

Can grow in a large pot in shade; keep the compost moist.

Tip: Cut it back firmly every March: it stays compact and flowers freely on the new wood. Leave the berries for the birds, but cut some off if it self-seeds too much.

Tutsan: when to prune it?

Pruning months: March.

When: Prune in March, before the new shoots appear. Tutsan flowers on new wood, so a firm prune costs no flowers.

How:

• Cut the shrub back by about half; a bare or untidy plant can go down to 15–20 cm above the ground.
• Remove dead, weak and frost-damaged stems at the base.
• If there has been rust, take all the cut leaves and stems out of the garden.

Caution: If you do not want seedlings all over the garden, cut off some of the berries after summer, before they turn black and ripen.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Cuttings

In June–July: cuttings of 8–10 cm from non-flowering shoots, lower leaves removed, in moist cutting compost under plastic. They root easily.

Self-sown seedlings

Tutsan often seeds itself. In spring, lift young seedlings with a little soil and replant them in their new spot.

Tutsan: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy to −20 °C.

• Hardy to about −20 °C: no protection is needed in Belgium.
• Semi-evergreen: in hard winters the leaves drop or the tips are frosted; cut these off in March.
• In a pot: stand it against a sheltered wall and wrap the pot in hessian so the roots do not freeze.

Diseases and pests

• Rust: Orange to brown pustules on the undersides of the leaves, often from summer onwards. Remove affected leaves, rake up fallen leaves and prune firmly in March; give the shrub space and air.
• Self-seeding: Seedlings appear all over the garden, even among other plants. Weed them out while small or cut off some of the berries before they ripen.
• Bare, untidy shrub: Without pruning it becomes open and floppy after a few years. A firm prune in March makes it compact again.
• Drooping leaves: A sign of drought, especially in sun. Water generously and mulch.

Through the year

• March: Cut back by about half, or harder if the shrub is bare. Give compost. Plant.
• April: Plant. Lift and replant self-sown seedlings. Mulch.
• June: Flowering begins. Take cuttings.
• July: Full flower. Water in dry weather. Watch for rust.
• August: Flowers and first red berries. Water in dry weather.
• September: Berries turn from red to black. Cut stems for a bouquet; to limit seedlings, remove some berries before they turn black.
• October: Plant. Birds eat the ripe berries.
• November: Plant. Clear up fallen leaves affected by rust.

Edible and useful

Not edible. The glossy berries of tutsan, first red and later black, and its leaves are mildly poisonous: they can cause stomach and gut upsets, in children as well as in dogs and cats. The berries are on the plant from summer into autumn, often alongside the yellow flowers, and children easily mistake them for sweets. In grazing animals such as horses, cattle and sheep, eating St John’s wort species can make the skin sensitive to sunlight: do not plant it in or next to a field, and do not give the clippings to animals. Pick off the berries where small children play; that also stops it seeding itself everywhere. If any is swallowed, call a poison centre (in Belgium 070 245 245) or your doctor at once.

Good for wildlife

Bees

Nectar and pollen for honeybees and wild bees.

Birds

Berries, seeds or insects as food, or a place to nest.

Did you know?

• The name androsaemum means ‘man’s blood’, like the Dutch mansbloed: it refers to the red juice of the berries.
• St John’s wort flowers produce no nectar: bees and bumblebees visit them for the pollen.
• In New Zealand, tutsan has become naturalised and a stubborn weed of pasture and forest.