Winter 2010 has yet to arrive, but it’s already time to start thinking about winter 2011 if you want to have a little color in your yard once the flowers and leaves of fall are gone. Plant a bush that produces colorful berries. Once established, they are almost carefree and will add years of eye-catching color to your winter landscape.
“Berries remind me of nature’s jewelry,” said Sara Melton, manager at The Barn Nursery off I-24. “The color palette of a winter landscape is usually muted by dark green holly leaves, blue gray junipers and buff-colored river birch stems. A bright red cluster of berries on a nandina bush really grabs your attention.”
Here are tips on adding berry bushes to your yard because now is the time to plant. “The ground rarely freezes in Chattanooga, so technically you can plant all winter long,” Melton said. But buy them now, she suggested, because you will get the best selection before mid-November.
FIVE TIPS
1 Multiple choices: Good choices for berries are Nellie R. Stevens, Needlepoint or the Berri-Magic series from Monrovia. Some other showy varieties are snowberries with white or pink berries, beautyberries with bright purple fruit and pyracantha with orange to red berries. Other good choices include Heavenly Bamboo nandina, viburnums, serviceberries and cotoneasters.
2 Sunlight: Most bushes that produce berries tend to prefer full sun to get the most berries.
3 Soil: Because soils in the Chattanooga area tend to be heavy and have a lot of clay, experts recommend planting with at least 25 percent of the root ball above ground. Mound soil and compost up beside the exposed roots, but don’t cover the plant’s crown, the section where the roots join the top growth.
4 Fertilizer: Use a root stimulator when you plant to get them established well. After that, choose a slow-release fertilizer with plenty of micronutrients. Holly-tone is good for hollies, dogwoods and other acid-loving plants. Plant-tone works well for everything else. Feed in the spring and again in early fall.
5 Birds: Expect to share your berries. Berries are a vital source of food for a wide variety of local birds.
Contact Anne Braly at abraly@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6285.