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Garden Center: Helpful Hints

Plants with Winter Interest

This is a list of plants which are noted for their winter interest and their ability to brighten or add flare to a landscape during the coldest months in New England. Some are noted for their berries, some for their bark, and some for other reasons but all will add interest during those boring times of year. Contact a Nursery Yard associate if you need any further assistance about Winter Interest Plants.

This is a recommended list of plants with winter interests:

Shrubs
	Red Osier Dogwood ‘Bailey’s Red’ Deep green leaves and creamy-white flower clusters in May are followed by porcelain-blue fruits and a reddish-purple fall color with bright, deep red winter stems.	Red Osier Dogwood ‘Midwinter Fire’ Deciduous shrub, about 4 ft (1.5 m) tall, mulitstemmed; in winter stems are bright orange-yellow at the base and red at the tips. White flower clusters appear in May-June.

	Red Osier Dogwood ‘Bud’s Yellow’ Large green leaves with white margins. Pale white flowers mid to late spring. Yellow fall color. Red stems. Yellow stems in winter.	Hybrid Witch hazels ‘Jelena’ Rich coppery-orange flowers on this unusual shrub add blazing color to the winter landscape. Flowers with wavy, strap-like petals appear on the bare branches. Plant near entries and patios.

	Hybrid Witch hazels ‘Arnold’s Promise’ Flowers with wavy clear yellow petals and red cups appear on the bare branches of this unusual shrub to add blazing color to the winter landscape. Plant near entries and patios to enjoy the fragrance.	Hybrid Witch hazels ‘Sunburst’ Deciduous very upright grower produces abundant clusters of lemon yellow flowers with long petals.

	Ornamental Grasses: Switch Grass Switchgrass typically turns a nice pale yellow in the fall, but some cultivars have been selected for more striking colors.		Ornamental Grasses: Maiden Grass Maiden Grass is an arching, graceful grass that forms dense clumps of green or variegated foliage. This grass is used in the landscape as a specimen, screen or a nice mass of textured foliage.

	Ornamental Grasses: Feather Reed Grass Feather Reed Grass is a very vertical, clump forming grass. Both leaves and flowers stand strictly upright giving it a neat, vertical line. In the autumn the flowers change to a buff color and are retained throughout the winter.		Winterberry: ‘Winter Red’ Produces loads of bright-red berries on a large plant that grows 6 to 9-feet tall and wide. The growth is upright and mounded. The red berries will make this plant the focal point of your garden in the winter.

	Winterberry: ‘Sparkleberry’ Long branches that are covered with abundant bright-red berries in late fall. It's a real knock out in the garden all winter.		Winterberry: ‘Jim Dandy’ Lots of very small flowers on this shrub, but no fruit. It has attractive, dark-green, healthy foliage and makes a rounded, compact shrub that grows 3 to 4-feet tall and wide.

	Inkberry Holly: ‘Shamrock’ Selected for its compact habit and bright, glistening new foliage, this dwarf grower makes an excellent hedge or border plant. The dense twiggy habit displays an abundance of black berries through winter. Evergreen.		Inkberry Holly: ‘Compact’ This dwarf grower makes an excellent hedge or border plant. The dense twiggy habit displays an abundance of black berries through winter. Evergreen.

	Inkberry Holly: ‘Dense’ Dark green foliage. The glossy narrow leaves do not develop any appreciable fall color. The flowers are not ornamentally significant. The smooth gray bark is not particularly outstanding.		Meserve Blue Holly: ‘Blue Princess’ A profusion of bright red berries fall through winter. Use Blue Prince Holly as a pollenizer for berry set. Displays dense, blue green foliage on purple stems. Evergreen.

	Meserve Blue Holly: ‘Blue Maid’ An exceptionally hardy, vigorous, broadleaf evergreen with snag-free, purplish-green holly foliage that is well suited along walkways or border plantings. A true holly look in a dense, bushy plant with bright red berries and purple stems. Evergreen.		Meserve Blue Holly: ‘Blue Baron’ Small white flowers appear in spring. Blue Baron is a superb dwarf variety with a compact habit and dark blue-green leaves that are heavily overcast with burgundy in winter.

	Firethorn: ‘Mohave’ Combining beauty with bravado, this tough plant conceals its "thorny" personality beneath a blanket of lovely white flowers in spring and enticing reddish orange fruits from mid-August to winter.		Firethorn: ‘Yukon Belle’ This broadleaf evergreen member of the rose family is valued for the brilliant orange fruit in fall which last throughout the winter, also bears smallish white flowers in spring.

	Walking Stick This upright, tree-like shrub has heart-shaped, toothed, mid-green leaves. Pendent yellow catkins are borne in late winter and early spring. Strongly twisted, spiraling shoots provide year-round interest.		Hydrangea: ‘Strawberry Vanilla’ The blooms emerge creamy white in mid summer, change to pink and finally to strawberry red on red stems.

	Hydrangea: ‘Twist n’ Shout’ Extremely hardy pink blooms in alkaline soil; blue blooms in acidic soil.		Hydrangea: ‘Little Lime’ Large lime green blooms on a smaller growing plant, 6', mature to white and finally pink, August to September. A new dwarf form of the popular Hydrangea ‘Limelight’.

	Viburnum: ‘American Cranberry’ This deciduous, rounded shrub grows to 15 feet tall with maple-like, lobed, dark green leaves that turn shades of red, yellow, and purple in autumn.		Viburnum: ‘Winterthur’ maintains a compact, 6-foot-round, multistemmed habit that produces abundant fruit and more intense fall color than the species.

	Viburnum: ‘Blue Muffin’ The remarkably intense blue fruit that inspired the name appear in late summer and fall. The fruit add interest to the fall landscape, and attract songbirds to the garden.		Chokeberry: ‘Autumn Magic’ Lustrous black berries that are a showstopper in fall and early winter, and this cultivars bears them in spades.

	Red Chokeberry An improved, compact selection noted for its brilliant red fall foliage and larger, more abundant glossy red fruit. Tart and bitter fruit causes choking if eaten fresh, but good for jams and jellies. Deciduous.		Black Chokeberry Displays clusters of 5-petaled, white flowers in spring which are followed in early autumn by blackish purple, blueberry-sized fruits.

	Yew Shrubs (not trimmed or pruned) 'Hicks' One of the most popular upright columnar yews. It is a dense, narrow, columnar, evergreen shrub with ascending branching with lustrous dark green needles above and lighter green below.		Yew Shrubs (not trimmed or pruned) 'Dense' Outstanding evergreen shrub. Dense spreading plant with dark green soft foliage. Drought tolerant once established. Excellent in foundation plantings and shrub borders.

	Yew Shrubs (not trimmed or pruned) 'Pyramidal' Narrow to broadly pyramidal. Dark green leaves are linear with spiny tips. Leaves turn to a reddish-green tint in winter. It is a fast grower which makes it an excellent candidate for a high quality hedge.		Bayberry Dark green foliage, aromatic when crushed, and persisting well into autumn; clusters of gray, waxy berries on female plants; fruits persist into winter and are also aromatic.

	Snowberry Green foliage with small spikes of pink flowers; fruits are white and berry-like from September through November.		Hinoki Cypress ‘Golden Hinoki Cypress’ Flattened sprays of aromatic foliage on feathery branches create a pyramidal shape.

	Hinoki Cypress ‘Well’s Special’ Medium green foliage is similar to C. obtusa 'Gracilis', but less "layered" appearing and more dense and twisted. Red stems. They are well adapted to the New England climate and make fine cut greens for the winter holiday season.		Hinoki Cypress ‘Koster’ Attractive shrub has a rounded form maturing into a dwarf pyramidal shape. This evergreen displays flat sprays of green foliage.

	Arborvitae ‘Yellow Ribbon’ Foliage is a true 50/50 mix of dark emerald green and super bright golden yellow - green on the inner half, and golden on the outer half. When grown, this arborvitae is hard to beat as far as striking beauty goes.		Arborvitae ‘Berkman’s Gold’ Conical-shaped evergreen shrub that features attractive golden-yellow foliage.

	Cypress ‘Mops’ Bright and unusual looking evergreen shrub. Low, dense form and pale golden-green foliage.		Cypress ‘Sungold’ Compact, mounding shrub with consistent golden yellow new foliage, even in full sun.

	Cypress ‘Golden Threadbranch’ Compact, erect, cone-shaped shrub with bright, golden-yellow new foliage, even in full sun.		Beautyberry ‘Profusion’ Superb shrub valued for display of abundant clusters of long lasting violet berries along branches in fall. New growth has exciting bronze tinge. Prune in late winter to early spring to encourage new growth.

	Beautyberry ‘Early Amethyst’ Massive quantities of small amethyst fruits appear along the slender, arching branches following clusters of small pinkish-lavender blooms.

Trees
	Hawthorn‘Winter King’ Dense compact ornamental tree with white flowers in the spring followed by orange fruit clusters in the fall that hold on into the winter.	Paperbark Maple The paperbark maple tree is one of the last maple trees to develop fall color, and the leaves will persist into winter.

	Coral Bark Japanese Maple Coral red winter bark; color intensifies in cold weather to almost salmon; best color in full sun.	Birch ‘Whitespire’ Dark green foliage throughout the season. The pointy leaves turn an outstanding yellow in the fall. The smooth white bark is extremely showy and adds significant winter interest.

	Birch ‘Royal Frost’ Glossy deep burgundy red leaf color and cinnamon to white exfoliating bark makes this truly a spectacular all season tree.	Birch ‘Heritage’ Distinctive bark provides visual interest all year-round. Bright yellow fall color.

	Serviceberry ‘Allegheny’ Green to dark green foliage emerges with a distinctive red tinge. Fall leaf color varies from yellow to orange to red.		Florida Dogwood ‘Cherokee Brave’ An improved red (flower) form of Dogwood. New growth is burgundy-red turning to dark green with age.

	Florida Dogwood. ‘Cherokee Princess’ Gives an unusually heavy display of white blooms.		Florida Dogwood ‘Rubra’ A small tree that produces an abundance of deep rose-pink flowers in spring. Bright reddish-green fall foliage with red berries.

	Seven Sun Flower Four-inch long, ovate, deciduous, green leaves that turn purple-bronze in autumn.		Crabapple ‘Harvest Gold’ The pointy leaves turn yellow in fall. The fruits are showy gold pomes carried in abundance from early fall right through to late winter.

	Crabapple ‘Golden Raindrops’ The fruit is tiny and bright yellow. The leaves are probably the most unusual, with the early shoot leaves deeply cut or lobed, almost hawthorn-like. Fall color is mostly yellow with occasional edges of red		Crabapple ‘Coral Burst’ The pointy leaves turn yellow in fall. The fruits are showy tomato-orange pomes carried in abundance from early fall right through to late winter

	Mountain Ash Clusters of red fruit, small pomes, showy, ripening in fall, persistent.

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