fall berries

17 years ago

On a walk today, I saw a profusion of wild berries...at least 4 types. Can anyone tell me what berries (small, round, most were almost black but one type was medium blue with triangular leaves) are growing wild this time of year---and do the birds eat them?

I have planted serviceberries for the birds, and I'm considering a mulberry tree, but I'm eager to plant something that will help feed the birds in the late summer, fall & winter. Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

Thanks,

Ann in MD

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (9)

kenn3d
17 years ago
Hi Ann,

We have a row of Dogwood trees (about 10ft high) which our Blues and several other species enjoy this time of year:

We also have an Indian Magic Cherry tree, which our Robins have just begun to eat from. We hope it will attract the Cedar Waxwings soon also:

hth,

Kenn :)
bluebars
17 years ago
Ann in MD, can you post a picture of it? If we don't know what it is, there is a gardenweb forum called "Name That Plant" where you will get even more responses.
BlueBars
Related Discussions
Seascape Strawberries
Q
Comments (8)
As far as my test last year with growing Seascape in my hydro-stacker setup (see above), they really bounced back in late August and went all the way to November once I put a 50% shade cloth over them. It's amazing was happens when you reduce the temperature 10-15 degrees on strawberry plants in the hot summer. However, my friend was testing Evie-2's, which is a more heat-tolerant variety, while I was testing Seascape. What we found out was that production from his 1000 plants was triple mine during the summer months (before the shade cloth), so this year I'm switching to Evie-2's. I'm hoping they'll do even better with the 50% shade cloth in place. So far I'm really impressed with the plants, especially the size of their leaves. They are almost double the size! As far as second year taste tests go, we pull out our strawberry plants and clean the pots after the freezes come in Dec/Jan at the end of the first year, so I can't comment on their taste in subsequent years.
...See More
Strawberries. Can Somebody Pleeeze Explain!
Q
Comments (12)
April: It is true that commercial growers, growing on hills with black plastic and drip irrigation/fertilization, can grow large crops the first season. In fact, most of the growers in southern areas treat strawberries as an annual crop and don't worry about runners at all. But to do this, in addition to the cultural practices mentioned above, they plant strawberry plugs, which already have blossom buds formed within the plants. To make this system work, the plants should grow continuously after planting, which is why it is used mainly in milder climates. Georgia is a very long state, with substantial climate variation from north to south. I think you will find that commercial growers in Georgia are concentrated in the southern part of the state, where they can plant right through the winter and not have to worry about freezing out the developing buds. I don't know for sure that you could do this in your climate since I don't know where you are located, but if it is a normal zone 7 climate you first have to allow the plants to develop substantial flower buds, as well as runners if you are to have any real production. If you plant bundled bareroot plants now, there will be a few blossom buds imbedded in the plants, but not many. If you could find a source of plugs you might try planting them now, but I doubt the blossom buds would winter over well under conditions of real cold. But even if you lost a few blossom buds, plugs would improve your prospects of production next spring over bareroot plants. I try to make sure that a substantial number of runners produced the first season are able to root, since this will greatly increase production the following season. After that, I renew the bed annually by removing the old plants with elongated crowns and replacing them with young, vigorous runners. In my case, since I grow on black plastic, I cut a slit for the runner crowns and put them in contact with the soil. But I don't leave all of them, since I don't want the patch to become too crowded which would reduce sunlight and air circulation around the plants. Once runners are rooted they can also be transplanted to other locations, including a new bed if that is desired. Many people mow their leaves down after the berries have produced to remove older leaves that may carry diseases into the following season. Strawberry plants do not need leaves to see them through the winter, and most of them will die anyway. The important thing is the crowns, which contain all the leaves and blossom buds for the following spring. Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA
...See More
Can anyone identify this fall berry?
Q
Comments (9)
Looks like Poke to me. Red stems, elliptical leaves and black berries in hanging clusters. They are invasive, and probably not the plant you would want in an urban garden, but out here in the country they feed the birds into the winter. I've seen three or four bluebirds hanging on one plant. Elderberries have flat-topped umbels of flowers and berries and the berries disappear long before this. ANd the leaves are compound. Blackberry vines produce blackberries and you know those aren't them.
...See More
Buckthorn Removal and Neighbors Property
Q
Comments (13)
Is this thing a shrub? Would a low retaining wall prevent a significant % of seeds from rolling downhill to your side or at least keep the numbers of volunteers down some? That seems more sane than laying down a tarp each year onto established plants. Dealing with zillions of seeds dropping down from on high due to aggressive trees onto my native plant area, I don't see the tarp idea as workable. All it takes is money. I'm checking into a retaining wall but........cash is not quite in abundance here. On the other hand, seeds are. About the wench, would it make a good maintenance tool for dealing with new trees right along property line and for maintenance in the area thats been cleared? True, I'm not dealing with buckthorn, just nuisance hackberry trees but weeding out thousands of seedlings each year feels like an endlessly loosing battle with no end in sight. If this is a shrub, seems like there would not be the over-hanging canopy problem like you'd have with trees. Would it help if the shrubs were kept trimmed back to prevent overhanging branches dropping seeds onto your side? The area would still have to be weeded (or treated) regularly but would it + a wall make the numbers of volunteers less? I hope I'm not coming off badly here since I've never dealt with buckthorn but a shrub sounds easier to deal with than tall fast growing trees (I bet you guys are rolling the eyes at that). Of course, the worst offender is always the one we each personally deal with so its not really accomplishing much to compare aggressors. Reality is, as long as the offending plants are growing thickly next door, aggressive maintenance is what you are stuck with. Its either that or throw in the towel and let nature win the battle. I just hope no one is sanctimoniously educating you about it being a wildlife sanctuary. That really helps a lot.
...See More
Ann
Original Author
17 years ago
I had no idea dogwoods have blue berries!

I brought back 2 different sprays of berries from the walk, and hung them next to the BB feeder...the birds feasted on one and ignored the other. I have no idea how to post a photo, but it's very distinctive (the one the birds ate)---the stems are bright red and the berries almost black. I'll try the Name that Plant forum as the internet (outside GW)has failed me on this one...

I should be able to squeeze in a dogwood..do the berries stay out all winter---or til eaten? What are the birds eating in the wild in January, February and March? I know what they'll be eating in my yard (!!) but I'd like to have a more natural setting and hopefully attract some new birds. I've only seen one waxwing since I moved here 4 years ago, and would like to see another!

Thanks all,

Ann
Ann
Original Author
17 years ago
found it on the Name that Plant forum: pokeweed.
bet_from_ct
17 years ago
WOW Kenn, that is a FABULOUS photo of the fledgling. Any chance I could use it as one of my pictures of the week? Please email me at ebluebird"at"charter.net (change "at" to @).

Thanks for sharing it with the forum!

Here is a link that might be useful: Sialis picture of the week
kenn3d
17 years ago
Hi Bet,

We're always happy to have any of our photos used for educational (non-commercial) purposes, and especially pleased to see them on sialis.org.
I'll mail you to confirm our permission, but please feel free to select from our galleries at kenn3d.smugmug.com, whenever you'd like. :)
The link below is to our ever-growing Bluebird Gallery (currently about 600 photos ), taken over the past 2 years.

We also have more than a thousand photos of over 50 species of songbirds in our Birds Blossoms & Butterflies Gallery.

We hope everyone will enjoy our birds as much as we do. :)

Kenn

Here is a link that might be useful: Kenn & Temple's Bluebirds
donnalovesblue
17 years ago
Yesterday, while checking on my Dad's house, I noticed the 3 dogwoods in his yard were full of red berries, not blue! Are there several varieties of dogwoods that produce different color berries?

I don't have any berry producing shrubs or trees at my current home, so I occasionally put out blueberries for the birds...the mockers will scoff them up pretty quickly. Wish I could offer them every day, but fresh blueberries are so expensive, they only get this treat about twice a week.

If I planted a blueberry bush, how long does it usually take to produce fruit?

Donna
bluebars
17 years ago
I googled "Dogwood with blue berries" ... and found 3:
Is that Cornus alternifolia - Pagoda Dogwood Tree ?
Or maybe Cornus amomum - Silky Dogwood ?
Or Cornus controversa - Giant Dogwood Tree ?
bet_from_ct
17 years ago
Oh my GOODNESS, the photos in the Kenn & Temple album are AMAZING! Thank you SO much for sharing!

For those looking for some recommendations on berry-producing shrubs to plant that will attract bluebirds, I have a list at the link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: planting for bluebirds (Sialis.org)

fall berries

Comments (9)

kenn3d

bluebars

Related Discussions

Ann
Original Author

Ann
Original Author

bet_from_ct

kenn3d

donnalovesblue

bluebars

bet_from_ct

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

fall berries

Comments (9)

kenn3d

bluebars

Related Discussions

AnnOriginal Author

AnnOriginal Author

bet_from_ct

kenn3d

donnalovesblue

bluebars

bet_from_ct

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Ann
Original Author

Ann
Original Author