Every Garden Plan Should Include Fruiting Trees and Shrubs
In many parts of the country, where dry summer heat prevails, it has been said that the gardener would do well to enjoy his spring garden and expect little more until another spring.
This is a mistaken idea, proven by the garden plan that includes berrying or fruiting trees and shrubs. The bright color and glossy lushness of a tree or shrub laden with fruit is truly as beautiful as one covered with bloom in spring.
Fruiting plants prolong interest in the garden into summer and autumn as well as provide food for bird and sometimes food for man. We have made many a glass of jelly from the bright red crabapples gathered from the flowering crab.
It is possible to grow American holly in almost all parts of the country where proper care is given and when the planting includes both male and female plants. The female plant will bear a profusion of berries that last far into the winter. Some growers offer self-pollinating varieties.
The Firethorns
A popular berry-producing evergreen is pyracantha (firethorn). Some varieties bear more profusely than others but all make fine garden specimens. Their berries are borne in great quantities along the long branches and may be either red-orange or bright red in color.
This plant is of quick growth and it is advisable to purchase small plants as it does not transplant easily. Many varieties are hardy from zone four southward and are available from many growers.
It can be hedged, grown as a specimen or espaliered against a wall. It will tolerate a little shade but grows best in full sun.
A small tree, known as English hawthorn (Crataegus) has great value in the garden as background material or specimen tree.
It grows about 15 feet high, with spreading branches and stout spine. Its flowers are in large clusters, generally pink in color, and produce immense quantities of bright red fruit.
Be patient with the hawthorn if it does not bear fruit immediately. It needs from three to five years to come into its own.
The Malus family, or flowering crab, is growing in popularity and offers a variety of forms and colors. Most crabs are in the size class of small trees, however, some reach a height of 25 feet.
Generally the crab tree is covered with bloom before leaves appear in early spring, making it a fine accent tree.
The varieties are numerous, talk with your local nursery professional for their recommended varieties for your growing area.
Newly planted crabs should be watered freely the first year. After planting, spade in two quarts of fertilizer, high in nitrogen, in the top layer of soil to a depth of about ten inches. Do this once more the following year, then stop. Feeding and too free watering induce rapid growth but not flowering. Keep soil somewhat poor and dry for early and free blooming. Should the tree fail to fruit and flower within two, or at the most, three years, it is advisable to root prune. This is best done in early autumn.
A grove of fruiting crabs is a sight to behold where the autumn sun shines through their glistening color.
Cotoneasters, sometimes called the queen of shrubs, are not used nearly enough. All species will thrive either in shade or full sun and are suitable for growing under trees, clothing a wall or covering wet, dry or shady banks.
The outstanding characteristics of this genus are the beautiful conspicuous clusters of berries, ranging in color from brilliant orange-scarlet through varying shades of red to black.
Viburnum opulus (cranberry) is a showy shrub, growing from eight to 12 feet high. It puts on a fiery autumn show when it is covered with a profusion of shining red berries. The variety opulus ‘Xanthocarpum’ bears yellow fruit and makes a handsome bush from five to seven feet high. These golden berried branches combine well with gladiolus or mums for indoor decorations.
A variety, Viburnum Setigerum is recommended for its easy growth and generous fruiting habits.
The cranberry is of easy culture and will grow in wet, heavy clay soil where other plants find it difficult to thrive. It is extremely hardy and can be clipped for high hedge or grown free. It requires little care.
Callicarpa (jewel berry) is a graceful shrub with recurving branches which are covered in September with closely set clusters of violet berries. There are few shrubs which give so much pleasure in the small garden or are so satisfactory for cutting. Ultimate height is about five feet.
The jewel berry is something different in color and manner of growth, making a fine accent plant.
For daintiness and variety of color, Snowberry (Symphoricarpos) is an interesting shrub to grow. As the name implies, the fruits are tight clusters of white berries of various size. There are several superior varieties, growing upright and strong. All do well in full sun and are of easy culture.
In large gardens or where there is need for a high hedge or screen, Tartarian honeysuckle is the answer. It reaches a height of from eight to ten feet. It is very prolific and although its flowers are not especially striking, its bright red fruits are most attractive, especially to the birds.
There are some 150 varieties of the honeysuckle family, (Lonicera) all of which bear fruit of various types, size and color. Few plant families offer such a variety of growth and are so useful to the gardener. Many honeysuckles are half evergreen, some are trailing or woodbine in nature, with leaves of interesting patterns and color.
For the gardener who lives even as far north as the lower part of zone 4 and is willing to give special care to a plant, nandina offers him an evergreen shrub bearing bright red berries in great clusters which grow almost like grapes.
Nandina is a single species of evergreen which came to us from China. It grows from six to eight feet high with alternate, twice or thrice-compound leather-like leaves. The shrub is not particular as to soil, but it prefers a reasonably moist site. I would recommend it be planted on the south side of a building anywhere north of zone six and given winter mulch.
I have described only a few of the many plant families which offer the gardener valuable planting material and which he can adapt to his particular needs. It is easy to see that there is double value in garden plants which offer a second splash of color with their fruits as well as with their flowers.
by G Miller
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