Beautiful berries - shrubs with winter berries

Flower & Garden Magazine, Dec-Jan, 1994 by Molly Dean

FOR THE MOST PART WINTER IS a season of muted browns and grays, perked up with the occasional sparkle of ice and snow or the rich color of evergreens. On a stroll through Magnolia Gardens near Charleston, South Carolina, one morning in early February, I snapped a photo of a mysterious and rather somber scene of leafless oaks hung with sleepy gray strands of Spanish moss, black water and a few fading white sasanqua blossoms. The only bright color in this particular vista showed from the green of the first daffodil stalks, just starting to shoot up through the leafy ground.

Turning a corner, however, I discovered a delightful surprise: a brilliant red spray of nandina berries shining against a cloudless blue sky. Berries are hard to beat for winter color and are, in their own way, as attractive as many flowers. Although the production of berries or any type of fruit is usually associated with autumn, there are many shrubs whose berries last well into winter and sometimes even spring and beyond.

Nandina. I've seen nandina gracing Southern gardens all my life. Despite its association with the American South, however, the nandina (Nandina domestica) has been a favorite shrub throughout the centuries in Japanese gardens, known as "heavenly bamboo" or "sacred bamboo" because of the similarity of its canelike stems and fine-textured foliage to plants of the bamboo family.

Nandina is one of those rare shrubs that is beautiful in every season. Spring is heralded with both delicate white flower clusters and bronze foliage. The leaves turn a rich dark green for summer and then bright red in fall. Fall is also the season for the ripening of its long-lasting berries.

In Atlanta I have seen nandinas that form a graceful, informal hedge, interspersed with summer-blooming abelias -- a favorite of butterflies. This shrub is also excellent for creating a screen or planting against foundations. Many chide the nandina as having a leggy appearance. In order to solve this problem, the Wayside Gardens catalog suggests that the gardener prune the canes back at staggered heights. This method encourages layers of foliage to develop around the entire plant.

Nandina domestica thrives in Southern and Western regions of the United States (Zones 7 to 10), but may be grown in Northern areas if provided with mulch to ensure the survival of its roots. Give the nandina moist, well-drained soil, enriched with organic material. Full sun is ideal, but the nandina will tolerate partial shade. Some gardeners recommend feeding the plant each spring with cottonseed meal.

Pyracantha. Another shrub whose primary claim to beauty comes from its glorious berries is the pyracantha (Pyracantha coccinea). Its common name, firethorn, is derived both from the fiery brilliance of the orange, red or yellow berries and the prickly thorns upon its branches. In spring the pyracantha produces fragrant, ornamental clusters of delicate white flowers. The berries follow in autumn and, like those of the nandina, usually last all winter and occasionally into spring.

The pyracantha has a multitude of uses. It is often used for espalier or trained against a wall. Clipped, the pyracantha makes a good hedge, and left unsheared, it becomes an excellent barrier plant. The sharp thorns of most pyracanthas serve as a deter-rent to intruders. (Some modern hybrids are thornless, however.) One notable variety, 'Lalandei,' with its impressive vertical growth habit, is often grown as a specimen plant.

Pyracanthas tolerate many different soils and prefer warm sun or partial shade. Most cultivars are hardy in Zones 6-9, but a few can also be grown in Zone 5. They should be watered freely during dry spells and the roots mulched in spring, in preparation for summer heat.

Holly. Perhaps no other plant is more famous for its berries than the holly, undoubtedly because of its traditional association with Christmas. In old England Christmas could hardly be celebrated without the requisite holly sprig on the plum pudding or holly wreaths to decorate homes and churches, customs handed down to this day. Holly is, in fact, mentioned in the history of almost all European countries and was used in pre-Christian times for ornamental and religious purposes. It was once called the "holy" tree, and it is believed that "holly" evolved from this name.

The holly genus Ilex comprises both trees and shrubs, 15 of which are native to North America. None perhaps compare in beauty to English holly, that same holly of legend and myth. Yet our hollies are attractive and have a great variety of texture, leaf form, color and habit of growth. They also possess a variety of berries, including reds, oranges and yellows, and may be egg-shaped as well as round.

Some hollies, such as winterberry (Ilex verticillata), lose their leaves in the winter. 'Winter Red,' a cultivar of winterberry, is one of the few berried plants to thrive and produce lovely red berries in the shade. It also performs as well in cold climates as it does in the more temperate regions traditionally associated with hollies.