need help finding a good 'winter interest' shrub for wil

18 years ago

Hello, all!!

I am new to posting on this forum, although I have been a poster on other forums here on the gardenweb... I love this website, and thank you all in advance for reading this thread... O.K. So I need a small shrub (4 - 8 feet) to soften an area in my front yard. This area gets full sun right now, however, my neighbor just planted a red maple and I just planted a river birch, which will (eventually) shade out the area, so I guess I am looking for a shrub that can withstand sun as well as shade. The shrub doesn't necessarily have to be an evergreen, but if it is not, I would like the shrub to have berries that the birds ignore at least until Dec., or possibly some interesting bark or something. I am looking for a shrub that has ANYKIND of wildlife value, whether it be berries, cover, nectar--- whatever... I was considering some kind of mountain laurel (elf), as it is the state flower of PA (and CT, where I grew up), but I am not quite sure what the wildlife value of this shrub is. Oh, yeah--- I am looking for NATIVE shrubs only please! Thank you all for your input. I will diligently research any and all suggestions.

Jenny

Comments (11)

matt_v
18 years ago
Greetings! Here are a few off the top of my head...

Witch Hazel - Hammemelis virginiana flowers very early, like March!!

Inkberry Holly - Ilex glabra should be evrgreen for you. Persistant fruit for Songbirds. Likes wet soil...

Red Chokeberry - Aronia arbutifolia Awesome autumn color. Red fruit all winter long. Try also Glossy Black Chokeberry A. melanocarpa. NOTE...these are not Choke CHERRIES!

red-twig Dogwood - Cornus something Autumn fruit, winter color...STRIKING!

Bayberry - Myrica pennsylvanica THE BEST fuel for southbound Yellow-rumped Warblers, neat scent should be evergreen.

Not sure about SpiceBush (L. benzoin)... It has red fruit if female. It is the host plant for Spicebush Swallowtail. Autumn color? Persistant fruit? I can't say.

How about Buffaloberry (Shepherdia argentea), Coralberry (Symphoricarpos sp.) or Snowberry (Symphoricarpos alba). Hard to find, but will be very VERY Bird friendly!!
susanswoods
18 years ago
Viburnum trilobum - American Cranberry bush. Red fall color, bright red berries that everyone says the birds won't touch until softened up by winter freezes.

I agree with the suggestion for red-twig dogwood. I'm growing a cultivar called 'Cardinal' that is bright red. There are dark red varieties too.

My personal favorite is winterberry holly - ilex verticillata. Bare black branches covered with red holly berries. There are dwarfish varieties that should stay within your size specs.

I love things with bare branches and peeling bark. Oakleaf hydrangea is great, clethra acuminata (cinnamonbark or mountain) clethra.
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More great ideas - thanks! I wish I could plant one of what everyone has suggested. :- ) Dave, you are right - winter interest does mean different things. I am flexible to some extent because I don't have much of any kind of winter interest at present. I have recently been putting in various types of evergreens in another area, though. For this particular area, I am looking more for something with good fall foliage color and winter color of some kind. I guess my preference would be berries or brightly colored bark. Berries, of course, may not persist all winter. Around the end of January, though, I start hankering after flowers! So I do like the idea of winter blooming plants as well. In the end, positioning of different plants may be based on what needs to be enjoyed close up (like fragrance) and what can be seen from inside on cold days. I do have other areas of the yard still to plant, with things that may not end up being right for this spot. It's beginning to sound like this particular spot may be well suited by the variegated red-twig dogwoods that have been mentioned, but I'm not sure yet. And I will certainly be researching (and planting) alot of the other suggestions in other parts of the yard! So many wonderful plants, so little time (and space and money...)!
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Without a photo I am having a difficult time understanding why privacy is needed at the front end of your driveway which presumably leads to the public street? One would think privacy activities take place in the back yard. That said it is your right to want it :) But eighteen inches of width and a desired height of eight feet that behaves and stays that size is a tall order- it would be my opinion that anything you do is going to require more maintenance than it is worth unless pruning is your favorite hobby. I don't think DeGroot's would be good for privacy as they are so narrow toward the top. I have three in a group and while they are one of the best looking arborvitaes I have their use is more architectural than screening. Mine have gone from a couple of feet to approximately six/seven feet in five years. How long are you willing to wait? And I have to say that the thought of pruning a plant as naturally perfect in form as a DeGroot's makes me a little ill. Again, without a photo it is difficult to say but I would plant something thick and screening down as far as was practical and then use decorative boulders in the narrowest section. Or surprise my wonderful neighbor with some plants that he could plant on his side of the fence. Maybe a neighborly discussion is in order?
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Sounds like a really challenging situation. One of the problems with planting under bird feeders is that the hulls of the sunflowers are allelopathic; there is a chemical in the sunflower hulls that keeps other plants from growing. So first off you want to find a way to prevent sunflower hulls from falling into this spot, either with pans to catch spilled seed or using prehulled sunflower seeds or not using sunflower seed at all. Many variegated plants will grow more slowly, so it will be a while before they reach your optimal height. Your variegated willow may be your best bet. Juniperus scopulorum 'Sparkling Skyrocket' is narrow with white splashes. Not sure how tall it will get. Sambucus nigra 'Variegata' is slow growing, but is supposed to eventually reach 6-9 feet. Not sure on width, but Sambucus is pretty tolerant of pruning IME. Syringa vulgaris 'Dappled Dawn' has gold variegation and typical blue-purple lilac flowers. Also quite pruning tolerant, but lilacs by nature are slow-growing. I'm not sure how well anything will compete with two satellite dishes, however. ;>) Have you considered a bright-flowering annual vine on a pretty trellis? Scarlet runner bean, Thunbergia, etc. perhaps in a pot so that it gets taller faster? The flowers will distract from the bird droppings.
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My caryopteris (bluebeard) is just coming into bloom now and will continue through September. It's backed by helianthus "First Light" (medium yellow) and next to Nippon daisies (white) which will bloom come late October. I also like contorted hazelnut (Henry Lauder's Walking Stick) in the winter. The knarled and twisted form is striking in a winter landscape. American Cranberry viburnum is beautiful during the holiday season. I actually prefer its berries for holiday decorations over holly. The berries hang is beautiful clusters and they are a transluscent (sp?) clear red...georgous things, IMO. I second, or third, the comments about ornamental grasses. They look terrific and draw birds to the garden which provide their own splash of color on a cold January day. There are many evergreen shrubs to consider as well...daphne comes to mind at the moment and hasn't been mentioned. Rhoddies/azaleas are others. And, of course, the conifers are indispensable in winter. If you like juniper..the blue berries not only look pretty but they are edible (used in a lot of venison dishes but also work w/beef). It does take thought for the fall/winter garden. It's so easy in May when the garden centers are full of blooming perennials. Very easy to forget about August-April!
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cydonia33
Original Author
18 years ago
Thanks for the suggestions!! I have a question about holly... Do you need more than one plant for berries? My neighbor to the left and a neighbor across the street have hollies, but am not sure what kind and when they flower... I am also interested in the Bayberry and the Viburnum. Keep 'em coming!

Jenny
sarahbn
18 years ago
Hi Jenny Yes you need a male holly that blooms the same time as the female holly and or winterberry same for bayberry there's male and female also spicebush. As far as viburnum trilobum goes you should have two they aren't male and female but two different cultivars so you will get more berries . Sarah
vonyon
18 years ago
Do all of those plants tolerate shade? I thought a lot of berrying bushes preferred full sun.
sarahbn
18 years ago
Winterberry and spicebush tolerate shade the others I'm not sure about. I have bayberry in sun and a viburnum trilobun in semi shade under neighbors large magnolia tree. I'm sure it would be healthier in full sun.But one is fairly large other not quite as big it produces flowers and berries. Sarah
Elaine_NJ6
18 years ago
V. trilobum does well everywhere from full sun to mostly shade. It's quite an adaptable plant, like serviceberry or elderberry--plants that should be growing everywhere and used to be before the world got papered over with asphalt and norway maples. And you do not need two different cultivars or two plants to get lots of berries. (I grow only pure species.) V. trilobum is a gorgeous plant, and the berries are so pretty they look fake, but be aware that the birds will not touch them until spring, if at all. Also, viburnums take several years to bloom--figure three years for this species.

If I could put in one, and only one shrub, I'd plant an elderberry (Sambucus canadensis). Pretty, prolific, easy to grow, and a bird magnet. Cannot tolerate extreme drought, but does fine in ordinary situations, from full sun to deep shade. Of course, it doesn't have the winter interest of V. trilobum.
cydonia33
Original Author
18 years ago
Oh, my gosh--- I was "window shopping" in the nursury today and saw an elderberry for the first time! I am IN LOVE!! And considering all I've heard about the berries being bird candy, I am all over this plant. No, I don't think it would be appropriate for the area that I was originally thinking about... but NOW I am thinking about WHERE, OH, WHERE shall my sambuca go? It's funny how my search for a plant for one specific area has led me to search for areas for a specific plant...

Jenny
cydonia33
Original Author
18 years ago
Oh, wait--- I am researching sambucus now and am not quite sure--- the gorgeous one that I saw had fern-like lacey foliage... Is this native or a European cultivar? I know I am off-topic, but I cannot find good pics on the internet.

Jenny
kevin_5
18 years ago
Elaine said about V. trilobum--"And you do not need two different cultivars or two plants to get lots of berries. (I grow only pure species.)"

That information is incorrect. You need more than one unrelated plant to produce "lots of berries." Be it two seedlings or a seedling and a cultivar, or two different cultivars, you still need two to produce great quantities of fruit. In the case of V. trilobum, the cross pollinator often comes in the form of V. opulus, which grows rampantly in woods, and many yards as well. "Pure species" is also a bunch of rubbish, as any V. trilobum cultivar is also a "pure species." Just because the plant was picked from a group of seedlings for its superior properties does not somehow make it an inferior plant. On the contrary, they often have attributes that make them even more wildlife friendly.
terryr
18 years ago
Jenny, forest farm has a lot of elderberry shrubs. They're pictures are pretty good. I don't see one with I'd call ferny, but you can go and see if you can identify it. Or if you remember the name after sambucus....

Any of the viburnams I've planted, always the 1 to 3 gallon size, bloom the very next season...unless I buy it while it's blooming. Mine have never taken 3 yrs. to bloom.

Here is a link that might be useful: forest farm

need help finding a good 'winter interest' shrub for wil

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