It is hard to believe it is winter here as this is the second day ofmid-day temps in the 70’s, But it is winter One of the things that ismost outstanding this time of year are the red berried plants . There arefour that grown in this area of Zone8-9 surprisingly, none is native.Two are considered invasive one terribly so. Commercial nurseries are discouraged from selling it ( see Ardesia in a soon to be posted note).
Today I will discuss the pyracantha. It is grown though out the South as ashrub or against walls. This is due to its hardiness and ability togrow so fast that it does well leaning on walls. This particular plant is a closeup of a well, but infrequently pruned shrub It shows the typical berry color is a brilliant red orange. seen on what the natives call scarlet firethorn. The berries are 6mm in diameter.(Pyracantha coccinea). The plants have thorns. They have tiny whiteblooms in dense clusters (corymbs) in the late Spring.Pruning should be done in the late winter before the blooming to maximze the berrry production. The plant tolerates full sun to partial shade. The more sun the more flower Though the berries are usually this color there are hybrids from red to yellow. I fertilize once a year with balanced fertilizer in the Spring. like everything I grow it gets well mulched. It tolerates neglect quite well. Though non native it is infrequently invasive. And though birds are attracted to large shrubs to nest they don’t prefer these red winter berries to the extent they do some of the others, conssequently they make for along showy winter display.