5 Berry Covered Plants for Fall and Winter Interest
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- January 7, 2021
The Perfect Way To Add Color To Your Garden Beyond Summer
When picking plants for our gardens, we often think of how they will appear in spring and summer. We seek out bright blooms and interesting foliage to add excitement and beauty in the warmer months, but what happens once the temperatures start to cool, the blooms fade, and the foliage falls? When planning your garden, consider adding plants that extend your garden’s life beyond flower season-our favorite way to do this? Berries.
While the juicy and edible berries we pick up each trip from the farmer’s market may be in season during the summer months, these types of ornamental berry bushes start their show typically by the end of summer to early fall. While humans may not decide to feast on the bright bounty of berries, birds adore them- a bonus of adding berry-bearing plants to your landscape. Berries come in various colors, from classic reds to golden yellows and even purples. They’re a simple and often low-maintenance way of adding color to a typically quiet time in our gardens while also supporting the local ecosystem; in our book, that’s a win-win.
Here we’ll list some of our favorite fall and winter plants that bear the most delightful berries!
So What Are Our Favorite Berry-Bearing Plants?
While it was hard to choose, we’ve curated a collection below of five berry covered plants that covers a variety of plants that behold a bounty of berries each year.
1.) Berry Heavy® Winterberry Holly
A classic red for a timeless appeal!
Berry Heavy® truly knows how to put on a show like no other. Berry Heavy® is a deciduous shrub because it loses its leaves in winter; this only adds to this plant’s appeal, unlike others, which tend to look barren when this occurs. Once its leaves drop, they reveal branches laden with bright red berries. It’s a spectacular display, especially when paired with a blanket of fresh snow. Winterberry holly is known for being remarkably easy to care for, so there will be little work on your end to enjoy this shrub with berries year after year.
A note about Berry Heavy® Winterberry Holly Pollination:
Winterberry holly plants are either female or male, and both a male and female plant are needed in order for fruit (berries) to form on the female. This variety, Berry Heavy, is female, so you will need to purchase the male variety, Mr. Poppins winterberry holly, as well. While only the female plants will develop berries, one male can pollinate up to five females, berries galore!
2.) Pearl Glam® Beautyberry
Purple-pink berries for a unique pop of color!
3.) Proud Berry® Coralberry
Bubblegum like berries add a sweet and unique twist!
4.) Tandoori Orange® Viburnum
Bright orange clusters of fruit, beloved by birds!
Not only is the shrub rugged, durable, and easy to care for, but it’s incredibly easy to look at. While its foamy white flowers look pretty in bloom, we love Tandoori Orange® because of its bountiful orange berry clusters in fall. Perfectly paired with fall’s color scheme, these berries fit right in. These berries persist through winter, providing interest when you need it most. Plus, the birds appreciate having something to snack on during these colder months.
A note about Tandoori Orange® Pollination:
For best berry production, pair with Cardinal Candy viburnum, or another Viburnum dilatatum type for abundant fruit on both plants.
5.) Berry Heavy® Gold Winterberry Holly
A gold rush that persists through winter!
What’s better than a bounty of gold (berries)? We don’t think there’s much. Setting itself apart from other winterberry holly varieties, this golden berry-topped shrub is the perfect winter plant for your quiet fall/winter landscape. We can’t think of a more beautiful sight than this winterberry holly in winter with its luminous gold berries covered in a fresh blanket of snow. Easy to care for and deer resistant, this joyful shrub is the perfect way to add some sunshine and cheer to your garden when it could most use it.
A note about Berry Heavy® Gold Winterberry Holly Pollination:
Winterberry holly plants are either female or male, and both a male and female plant are needed in order for fruit (berries) to form on the female. This variety, Berry Heavy® Gold, is female much like previously mentioned Berry Heavy, so you will need to purchase the male variety, Mr. Poppins winterberry holly, as well. We like to think the more the merrier when it comes to berries.
How do you prepare your berry covered shrubs for the winter?
While these berry-bearing plants strut their stuff with their showy autumn and winter displays, you may be wondering how to prepare your plants best to last through the winter, especially those who live in harsher climates filled with frigid air and snow. It’s really more simple than you think to prepare these shrubs for winter and learn how to winterize your shrubs. To learn more about preparing your berry-covered shrubs and shrubs of all kinds for winter, explore our blog here.
Berries are an easy way of transforming your fall and winter landscapes.
Berry-covered bushes and shrubs are the perfect addition to any landscape. Adding up to two extra seasons of interest to your garden, these plants bring life to a typically dull time in the landscape because of their color and added texture. On top of their outward beauty, the fruit on these plants like Tandoori Orange® are beloved by birds and provide an essential food source for our local ecosystem. Whether you’re adding a bush that bears fruit in fall or one that continues its show into winter, you’ll be grateful you added one (or more) of these showy plants to your landscape.
Written by: Miranda Niemic, click here to read bio.
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