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The Garden Guru

Underutilized Plants

Jim Boxberger Jr. • Monticello Farm Home & Garden
Posted 12/10/21

I was going to write about Christmas trees and the supply chain issues this week, but luckily we live in an area where you can get fresh cut trees that don’t have to be trucked in for miles. So …

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The Garden Guru

Underutilized Plants

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I was going to write about Christmas trees and the supply chain issues this week, but luckily we live in an area where you can get fresh cut trees that don’t have to be trucked in for miles.
So instead I’m going to talk about some plants that are shining right now in the landscape. When landscaping in the spring, customers are always looking for the WOW factor. The problem with that is not every plant looks great in the spring. Some plants are meant to shine at different times of the year.
One example is a plant you will see as you are driving around the county. You can find them mostly around the roadsides as opposed to the front lawn of a well manicured home. It is the bushes you see right now with no leaves, just bright red berries near the end of every branch. These plants are a member of the holly family, Ilex verticillata, more commonly known as winterberry.
Winterberries are native to the northeastern United States and Canada. They grow well in our heavy clay soil and can tolerate wet areas. Like other hollies, winterberries need both a male and female plant to get berries, which will stay on the branches for a good portion of the winter. When we get snow as a backdrop these striking red berries produce quite a show.
Similar to winterberry is snowberry that gets white or pink berries on the stems for the winter. But snowberries are not in the holly family and you do not need a male and female for berries. Snowberries in white and pink are the most common to find in garden centers, but there is also a red snowberry and a blackish-purple snowberry. And like winterberries, snowberries will grow well in our soil, in both wet or dry areas.
Another group of plants that will shine once we get snow are the red twig, yellow twig and coral twig dogwoods. In spring and summer these plants look boring like just another green leaf bush. But, once the leaves fall off and the weather gets colder, the bark on the stems of the bush turn to striking colors.
Obviously, red twig dogwoods get a bright red color in winter, likewise the yellow twig has yellow branches and coral twig has a coral peach color that adds a pop of color to any winter landscape. These dogwoods also produce berries that will provide food for birds, deer and squirrels for the winter as well.
All of these plants that look very plain in the spring, will turn into the “Belle of the Ball” once the cold weather sets in and the snow starts to fly. So when planning new additions to your landscape consider some plants that will draw attention to your landscape all year round.

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