Keith Hansen

Now that winter is officially here, browns, grays and other muted colors take over the landscape. Here and there, standing out in sharp contrast, are brightly colored berries adorning trees and shrubs.

Plants with berries are like bright beacons, lighting up the view and adding color to an otherwise drab scene.

We're not the only ones who enjoy berried plants. Each fall, winter and spring, flocks of birds feast on plants laden with fruit. By including a few plants that have berries in your garden, you will attract birds and other wildlife to your yard.

Here are some plants with attractive berries for use in the landscape:

Hollies are some of the most versatile and diverse groups of landscape plants are the hollies. There are several species which come in different shapes, sizes - some with pointed, spiny leaves, others with small, rounded leaves, some growing as shrubs, and others as tall trees. While hollies grow in a range of sun exposures, the best berry production will be on plants receiving the most sun.

An important point to remember about selecting hollies for their berries is that the male and female flowers occur on separate plants. What that means is that the plants with male flowers will never have berries.

Most shrub-type hollies are propagated by cuttings, assuring the same characteristics for every plant. That means cuttings taken from plants with berries will also have berries. But many tree-form hollies are grown from seed. So, if berries are what you are after for your landscape, choose your plant now while it has berries.

There are several choice native hollies which grow into trees. Yaupon Holly (Ilex vomitoria) is a small, evergreen tree that makes an outstanding landscape specimen. The small, dark green leaves make a perfect foil for bright red berries covering the tree. The Weeping Yaupon Holly makes a very dramatic accent for the landscape with its strongly cascading branches. The popular Dwarf Yaupon Holly is a male clone, so it does not bear fruit.

A good place to see a Weeping Yaupon Holly is in the IDEA Garden in the Tyler Rose Garden. There is also a yellowish-orange berry Yaupon variety called "Virginia Dare'' near the patio and storage building.

The Possumhaw or Deciduous Holly (Ilex decidua) is another great native tree perfect for small yards. It is similar in growth habit and size to yaupon, except it shows off its reddish-orange berries even better when the leaves drop in the winter.

The variety "Warren's Red'' was selected for its bright red berries. There is a "Warren's Red'' in the IDEA Garden near "Virginia Dare.'' Possumhaw Holly will sucker, resulting in a multi-trunk large shrub or small tree.

The largest of the Texas native hollies is the American Holly (Ilex opaca), a large evergreen tree with the leaf shape that most of us associate with hollies. Give this tree plenty of room to grow. Count on several flocks of cedar waxwings visiting a female American Holly tree each winter.

The common Burford Holly produces an excellent crop of berries each year. This large shrub (from 10-15 feet) has dark green leaves with one spine on the tip of each leaf which helps show off the brightly colored berries. The Dwarf Burford Holly is similar but grows about half as tall.

There are many, many more holly varieties with heavy fruiting habits. Many of them make excellent medium to large evergreen hedges. "Needlepoint,'' "Willowleaf,'' "Nellie Stephens,'' "Savannah'' and "Mary Nell'' are just a few choice hollies. Visit your local nursery to see the various types of hollies.

While visiting the IDEA Garden, you can't miss another holly which is not commonly available in our area. It is called Winterberry Holly (Ilex verticillata). It produces an abundance of large, bright red berries that show off all winter on the bare branches.

This is a large shrub that spreads by suckers. It is native to the eastern United States, and blooms at a different time than our other native and exotic hollies. So, it requires purchasing a male pollinator in order to get berries. The uncomely male is located about 50 feet away from the female. Look for the Winterberry in the lawn near the entrance to the IDEA Garden.

Beautyberry is another native plant that birds love. Also known as French mulberry, beautyberry (Callicarpa americana) produces violet berries in dense clusters along the stems. Beautyberry is an informal, deciduous plant and needs room to grow, but can be cut back each year since flowers (and therefore berries) are produced on new growth. It's a good shrub for naturalizing or growing in a mixed shrub border with dark evergreens.

Another native, small tree, the dogwood needs little introduction. Beloved for its spring bloom, the dogwood (Cornus florida) provides fall and winter interest with colorful foliage and bright red berries. Many species of birds like dogwoods too, and if you pay attention, you might discover that many of the 'weeds' you pull out of your flower beds are actually dogwood seedlings, compliments of our feathered friends.

Many roses, especially the old fashioned types, produce attractive fruit, called rose hips. This aspect of rose culture is often overlooked, but the clusters of colorful red or orange hips add another highlight to one of our favorite plants. If you deadhead (cut off) the spent flowers, then you might also be missing out on the fruit.

Also called Heavenly Bamboo, Nandina is a common landscape plant with some uncommon qualities. It's a small, evergreen shrub with upright canes, bearing leaves that turn burgundy and red in the winter. Add to that dense panicles of upright white flowers which turn into heavy clusters of bright red fruit held throughout the winter, and you have a really useful plant. Most dwarf nandina varieties aren't grown for their fruit, but rather their compact growth habit.

Also called firethorn for good reason, Pyracantha is an evergreen shrub that is guaranteed to draw flocks of birds to your yard with its clusters of orange-red fruit. Its thorny habit makes it a useful barrier plant and nesting site for birds.

It is often trained into interesting patterns on brick walls, called espalier. Watch out for fire blight and lace bugs which can mar the beauty of Pyracantha.



Keith Hansen is Smith County Horticulturist with Texas Cooperative Extension. His Web page is http://EastTexasGardening.tamu.edu Texas Cooperative Extension educational programs are open to all individuals without regard to race, color, sex, disability, religion, age or national origin.

Keith Hansen
()