All About Coralberry

What a lovely and adaptable shrub Coralberry is. The latin name is Symphoricarpos orbiculatus, and it is part of the Caprifoliaceae (Honeysuckle ) family.

Its native habitat is greatly varied and its range is very widespread, covering the Eastern U.S. from New York to Texas. It can grow in thickets, open woodlands, river banks, and many other places, but here in North Central Texas it prefers the Post Oak woodlands and Savannas.

The average height is one to three feet, but it can reach six feet under favorable conditions. It prefers part shade, but can live in full shade and is not picky about soil, able to grow well in sand, loam, or clay.

It does not require much water to be happy and is able to thrive with minimum watering or just rainfall.

Although this shrub is deciduous, it is almost evergreen because it is leafless for such a short amount of time. It loses its leaves late in the season and greens up early in the spring with lovely lime green leaves.

The flowers are inconspicuous, but the most outstanding feature is the berries, which hang around through the fall and winter -- that is, of course, if the songbirds, ground birds, small mammals, and browsers who use this plant for food allow them to last that long.

This shrub makes an excellent plant around the home foundation and can be used to replace the invasive Nandina. Used as a ground cover, it also presents a very lovely sight, especially when planted in a natural setting.