Home Garden & Home Plants Discover: Autumn Berries

Discover: Autumn Berries

Planting autumn berries within your outside space is a wonderful way of creating a focal point and adding extra impact.

Autumn Berries – Varieties

Skimmia reevesiana

Skimmia reevesiana is an aromatic shrub with bright red berries from autumn until spring, providing great interest for a large portion of the year. With small, cream-white flowers during the summer months, this is a brilliant, compact shrub to plant in your outdoor space.

Sun requirements: Full shade/partial shade

Soil: Moist but well-drained

Hardiness: Hardy throughout most of the UK

Size: Grows to 1m height x 1m spread

Pyracantha

Pyracantha is a wonderful addition to a garden and looks beautiful when planted near a fence or wall particularly in the summer when it shows a spectacular showing of flowers. This wildlife-friendly shrub is a must-have with great pops of red, orange, and yellow in the berries in the autumn and winter.

Sun requirements: Sun/partial shade

Soil: Moderately fertile

Hardiness: Hardy in the UK

Size: Grows to 2.5m height x 2.5m spread

Cotoneaster ‘Berried Treasure’

With unique leaves of green with white undersides and orange-red berries, Cotoneaster ‘Berried treasure’ is a fantastic choice for a small garden. During the summer months, it displays wonderful, delicate pink flowers.

Sun requirements: Full sun/partial shade

Soil: Well-drained

Hardiness: Hardy in the UK

Size: Grows to 2.5m height x 1.5m spread

Symphoricarpos

Symphoricarpos are ideal for a smaller garden, with their simple form they work well in amongst other shrubs. It is a fantastic autumn berry choice with interesting colouration and a great backdrop of dark green leaves.

Sun requirements: Full sun/partial shade/full shade

Soil: Moist but well-drained

Hardiness: Hardy in the UK

Size: Grows to 1.5m height x 1.5m spread

Callicarpa

Callicarpa is certainly an eye-catching variety to include in your outdoor space. If you’re looking for a berry plant with the wow-factor, Callicarpa’s violet-purple berry clusters are sure to offer you this. It bears pretty lilac flowers in the summer months and with the foliage changing colour throughout the season, it is the ideal berry plant for year-round attraction.

Sun requirements: Full sun/partial shade

Soil: Well-drained

Hardiness: Hardy in the UK

Size: Grows to 4m height x 2.5m spread

Gaultheria

Working well both in a flower bed or as a container plant, Gaultheria is easily integrated into any outside space. With its small form, it will sit pretty in any garden and will provide scarlet berries during summer and autumn and pretty pink flowers just before.

Sun requirements: Full shade/partial shade

Soil: Moist but well-drained

Hardiness: Hardy in most of the UK

Size: Grows to 0.5m height x 1m spread

Ilex aquifolium (common holly)

Ilex aquifolium is a great tree to integrate into a medium-sized garden and features interesting and dark, glossy leaves. Between the autumn and winter months, Ilex aquifolium displays vibrant red berries and small white flowers in the spring.

Sun requirements: Full sun/partial shade

Soil: Moist but well-drained

Hardiness: Hardy in the UK

Size: Grows to 12m height x 8m spread

DISCLAIMER: Some autumn berries are not regarded as edible and can cause discomfort if consumed. Ensure that you research all items prior to eating them or have them verified with a medical professional to guarantee safe consumption.