That Fall Feeling

The cooler weather we’ve been feeling here in West Michigan has got me in the fall spirit. Whether it feels like fall where you are or not, the seasonal change is right around the corner. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about Proud Berry® Coral Berry, which boasts beautiful pink berries in fall, and today I have another berry-covered fall beauty: Berry Box™ pyracomeles.

The Berry Best

This compact little shrub is an adorable evergreen, sporting its tiny green foliage year-round. But where its sister plant, Juke Box®, is grown as a foliage plant, Berry Box™ has the added appeal of bright fall berries. In spring, Berry Box™ is filled with clusters of five-petaled, button-like white and pink flowers. Then, come late summer/fall, the small blooms are replaced with pea-sized berries that start out orange and transition to red as winter rolls around.

Not only is Berry Box™ pyracomeles fun and vibrant in the garden, but it is also a tough little shrub. It is easy to grow, drought tolerant, and heat tolerant.

At 2-3.5’ tall and 2-3’ wide, it’s the perfect size shrub for borders, low hedges, and even containers on your patio. Its whimsical form will surely turn heads no matter where you plant it!

Berry Box™ thrives in full sun or part shade and is hardy in USDA zones 7(6b)-9. It doesn’t require much pruning as it naturally grows quite dense, but if you would like to shape it, you can do so in mid/late spring after the first flush of new growth.

It’s not too Late to Plant

If you’ve started packing up those garden tools for the year, pause for a second because fall is a great time to plant a shrub! Planting in the fall gives your shrub plenty of time to establish, and it gives you a head start on your garden for the next season. Have questions about fall planting? Check out our fall planting FAQ blog, where Stacey answers some common fall planting questions.

Have a fabulous weekend, and I’ll be back next week with another shrub!