Climbing Pyracantha strutting its stuff from a high trellis.

In the winter, gardeners have to be creative to bring color and texture to an otherwise bleak landscape. One of the best ways to do this is by planting shrubs that produce winter berries. Not only will you get the bright berries themselves, but your shrubs will soon be decorated with a host of colorful, feasting birds. There are many choices available for winter berries with colors ranging from white, blue, yellow, orange, and red.

Beautyberry (Callicarpa sp.)

No garden is complete without the showstopping bright-purple berries of Beautyberry. The attractive, arching branches of this ornamental shrub provide berries that persist until well after the leaves have fallen. Highlight beautyberry by planting it as a specimen plant, or in front of evergreens or other solid backdrop. Hardy to zone 5.

Cotoneaster (Cotoneaster sp.)

Most varieties of Cotoneaster are small, spreading shrubs, with many prostrate varieties used as groundcovers as they tumble over walls and slopes. Both evergreen and deciduous varieties are available, with dark reddish-green leaves, pink spring flowers, and eye-catching small red berries in winter. Hardy to zone 4.

Crabapple (Malus sp.)

From soft multicolored blossoms in spring, to a profusion of tiny fruits into fall and winter, to lovely bark and graceful branches year-round, Crabapples are great choices for a year around garden. Most varieties are small ornamental trees with an arching shape, but weeping forms are also available. Varieties include some hardy to zone 5.

Holly (Ilex sp.)

With some types hardy in cold Northern U.S. climates, hollies are a staple of the evergreen garden. The hundreds of varieties offer shapes and sizes to fit any landscape with berries ranging in color from white to yellow to red. The Winterberry variety (Ilex verticillata) is an unusual holly that loses its leaves in the winter, adding some drama to the berry display. See our article on How to Grow Holly for information about selecting and growing these versatile plants. Some varieties hardy to zone 4.

Ligustrum/Privet (Ligustrum sp.)

With blue-black berry-like fruits called “drupes,” many varieties of Ligustrum offer both greenery and color in the winter landscape. They are easily sheared into hedges and make great foundation shrubs. Some varieties hardy to zone 5.

Nandina (Nandina sp.)

One of the easiest of all garden shrubs to grow, Nandina is also known as “Heavenly Bamboo” because of its bamboo-like, caned growth habit. Nandina makes a great vase-shaped backdrop peeking up behind smaller shrubs, with lacy foliage and sprays of red berries in fall and winter. The berries are perfect for holiday cuttings. It’s drought-tolerant with dwarf varieties available, including the fall-red foliage of ‘Firepower.’ Hardy to zone 6b.

Photinia, Chinese (Photinia serrulata)

With a little pruning, this rounded shrub can take the form of a small tree, laden with clusters of white blooms in spring which give way to masses of tiny red berries in the fall and winter. Chinese Photinia is a hardier, disease-resistant alternative to the familiar Fraser or Red-Tip Photinia (Photinia x fraseri). Hardy to zone 7.

Pyracantha (Pyracantha sp.)

Also known as Firethorn, this plant gets its name from the profusion of orange berries amid dramatic thorns. Technically an evergreen shrub, Pyracantha is fast-growing and easy to train, and it is often grown as a colorful espalier or trellis climber. Because of the sharp thorns and dense habit, it also makes a great security hedge. Hardy to zones 5 or 6.

Viburnum (Viburnum sp.)

The endless varieties of Viburnum make it a garden favorite. The flowers are white to slightly pink and most produce colorful drupes that last into winter. Popular varieties for winter fruit include the red-fruiting American Cranberrybush (Viburnum trilobum) and the more dramatic, blue-black Arrowwood (Viburnum dentatum). Hardy to zone 2.

More Options

Other choices for winter berries include:

• Barberry (Berberis sp.) – red or bluish
• Bayberry (Myrica pennsylvanica) – silver-gray
• Bittersweet (Celasstrus sp.) – vine – orange berries
• Buckthorn (Rhamnus sp.) – black
• Chokeberry (Aronia sp.) – red or black
• Elderberry (Sambucus nigra) – red or blue-black
• Hawthorn (Crataegus sp.) red or orange
• Juniper, Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus sp.) – blue
• Roses (Rosa sp.) – red “hips”
• Serviceberry (Amelianchier sp.) – blue or red
• Skimmia (Skimmia japonica) – red
• Snowberry and Coralberry (Symphicarpos sp.) – white or reddish-purple

Further Information

• Colorful Berries in Winter (Crescent Bloom)
• American Beautyberry (University of Florida)
• Cranberry Cotoneaster (Ohio State University)
• Crabapple (Clemson University Extension)
• Holly (Clemson University Extension)
• Ligustrum/Privet (Clemson University Extension)
• Nandina (Clemson University Extension)
• Chinese Photinia (U.S. Department of Agriculture)
• Pyracantha (Clemson University Extension)
• Viburnum (Clemson University Extension)

Tags: , garden, winter