| I would like to add color to my wooded lot by planting trees which bear red or blue berries. Do you have any suggestions? |
| There are quite a few shrubs and small trees that will produce red fruit that persists into the winter months: highbush cranberry (Viburnum trilobum), crabapples, hollies (you'll need a male and female holly in most cases to get fruit). Blue berries are hard to find in winter; though silky dogwood (Cornus amomum) and some viburnums (V. lentago, V. dentatum) and Nyssa sylvatica produce glossy blue berries in late summer, they don't last long, or simply turn black as fall sets in. Juniper species, though not deciduous, produce powedery-blue fruits that do last all through winter. Some varieties have quite large fruits, too. You might want to consider other tree features (colorful or boldly patterned bark and branches) that stand out year round. If you want to consider shrubs with colorful twigs, check out Cornus sericia and C. sanguinea; both have very red twigs. If you need other suggestions for creating interest in the winter landscape, please post another question. Enjoy! |
