Coralberry

Sun

Full sun to partial shade; tolerates deeper shade but usually produces fewer berries.

Water

Moderate water while establishing; tolerates dry spells once rooted.

Soil

Adaptable to clay, loam and sandy soils, including alkaline ground, provided drainage is adequate. Avoid persistently waterlogged soil.

Height

2-5 ft (0.6-1.5 m)

Spread

4-8 ft (1.2-2.4 m), eventually wider through suckering

Flowers

Small, inconspicuous greenish-white to pink flowers in summer, followed by coral-pink to purplish-red berries.

Foliage

Small, opposite, oval green leaves; autumn colour is usually modest, sometimes with reddish or purplish tones.

Growth

Moderate to fast, especially in moist soil.

Care needed

Low

• Pollinators
• Deer resistant
• Drought tolerant
• Cold hardy
• Wildlife
• Low allergen

Northern hemisphere months. In Australia, shift them by six.

Difficulty

Easy

Toughness

Very tough

Pick your zone, country, light and whether you have pets.

1. Planting day

   1.6 ft (0.5 m)

2. After 1 year

   2.1 ft (0.64 m)

3. After 2 years

   2.5 ft (0.78 m)

4. After 3 years

   3 ft (0.91 m)

5. After 5 years

   3 ft (1.1 m)

   full size

About 4 years to full size.

From a typical nursery size, at an average rate for this kind of plant. A rule of thumb, not a forecast.

Cats and dogs

Mildly toxic: may upset a stomach

Native to

the US

In the garden

Spreads vigorously: plan to contain it.

Growth rate

Fast

• Water deeply during dry spells in the first growing season; thereafter water mainly during prolonged drought.
• Apply a 2-3 in (5-8 cm) organic mulch, keeping it clear of the stem bases.
• Skip routine feeding on ordinary garden soil; use a light compost dressing if growth is weak.
• Remove unwanted suckers with their attached roots before they establish a wider colony.
• Leave berries and stems standing through winter where their appearance and wildlife value are useful.

Pruning. In late winter or early spring, remove dead stems and cut up to one-third of the oldest stems to ground level. An overgrown patch can be cut back hard at the same time, although this sacrifices the remaining berries.

Late winter

Thin old stems or renovate an overgrown patch before new growth begins.

Spring

Plant into workable soil, water thoroughly and mulch around the root area.

Late spring

Remove suckers extending beyond the space you want the shrub to occupy.

Summer

Water young plants during dry spells and avoid shearing off flowering growth.

Autumn

Check the extent of the colony and lift rooted suckers for propagation if wanted.

Winter

Leave berry-bearing branches for seasonal colour and wildlife shelter.

• Plant as a loose, informal hedge where its arching growth can spread naturally.
• Use beneath open-canopied deciduous trees with woodland groundcovers and ferns.
• Mass on banks to provide low cover and help hold surface soil.
• Combine with native grasses and asters at a woodland or meadow edge.
• Place against a dark evergreen background to make the winter berries easier to see.

Garden styles it suits: Woodland, Wildlife garden, Native hedgerow, Rewilded, Low-maintenance and Winter interest.

Plant it with: Little bluestem, Wild columbine, Wild geranium, Christmas fern, New England aster and Oakleaf hydrangea.

Wildlife: Small flowers attract bees and other insects. Dense stems provide cover for birds and small mammals, and some birds eat the berries, often later in winter.

• Unwanted thickets: dig out spreading suckers with their roots and keep a mown or regularly maintained boundary.
• Powdery mildew: improve airflow, avoid crowding and water the soil rather than wetting the foliage.
• Leaf spots: collect badly affected fallen leaves and avoid overhead watering; established plants usually tolerate minor spotting.
• Few berries: move plants out of dense shade where practical and avoid repeated summer shearing, which removes flowers and developing fruit.

The berries are not edible and are considered mildly poisonous to people, dogs and cats; ingestion can cause vomiting, abdominal discomfort or diarrhoea. Horse-specific toxicity is poorly documented, so do not offer the plant as fodder. Keep children and pets from eating the berries.

Where it spreads. Spreads vigorously by root suckers and can form dense colonies within its native central and eastern North American range. In the United Kingdom it is introduced and can naturalise in hedges and woodland; keep plantings away from semi-natural areas where spreading would be difficult to control.

• Common snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus)

  Produces conspicuous white berries rather than coral-pink or purplish-red ones; its leaves may be irregularly lobed on vigorous shoots.

• Marlberry or coralberry (Ardisia crenata)

  An unrelated evergreen with glossy, leathery leaves, scalloped leaf margins and bright red berries held in hanging clusters.

Coralberry refers to the fruit colour, while Symphoricarpos comes from Greek words describing fruit borne together in clusters.

Propagation. Lift and transplant rooted suckers while dormant, retaining a good portion of root. Softwood cuttings taken in early summer are another option.

Accepted botanical name

Symphoricarpos orbiculatus

In the US and Canada

Native in the lower 48 states. Introduced in Canada.

Native range

Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky and Louisiana.

Measured

Soil pH 5.5 to 7.5. Average height 61 cm.

Sources: GBIF (CC BY 4.0), USDA PLANTS and Trefle (CC BY 4.0). The care and design notes are LandscapeGPT's own.