Snowberry

What a great time of year to talk about an old time favorite shrub, the snowberry. You may recognize this plant by its white snowball like fruit.

The snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus) is experiencing a renewal in popularity due to its shade tolerance and attractive fruit.  It tolerates a wide range of soils and full sun as well as shade. It is native to North America and hardy in zones 3 to 7.

Though it may lack a refined growth habit, snowberry is deer resistant and suited to natural plantings, bird gardens and hillside plantings for erosion control.

Many of the new introductions are hybrids developed for better growth habit and fruiting. Amethyst has hot pink berries for a brighter display. Hancock is a cultivar of the closely related coralberry and produces pink flowers in summer and coral pink fruit in fall on a compact plant.

A bit more information: Snowberry grows 3 to 6 feet tall and wide. The leaves are bluish green and flowers are small, pinkish in color and form at the ends of the stems.