Lakeshore Garden Centres Plant Finder

Other Names:  Black Alder

Description:

A deciduous holly valued for its colorful orange-red berries, and its green and yellow variegated foliage; Jim Dandy is the recommended male pollinator; upright growth habit; requires moist to wet acidic soils; excellent when massed

Ornamental Features

Sunsplash Winterberry is primarily grown for its highly ornamental fruit. It features an abundance of magnificent scarlet berries from mid fall to mid winter. It has yellow-variegated forest green foliage. The pointy leaves do not develop any appreciable fall colour.

Landscape Attributes

Sunsplash Winterberry is a dense multi-stemmed deciduous shrub with a shapely oval form. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.

This shrub will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. It is a good choice for attracting birds to your yard. Gardeners should be aware of the following characteristic(s) that may warrant special consideration;

• Suckering

Sunsplash Winterberry is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• Hedges/Screening
• General Garden Use
• Naturalizing And Woodland Gardens

Planting & Growing

Sunsplash Winterberry will grow to be about 7 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 6 feet. It has a low canopy with a typical clearance of 1 foot from the ground, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 40 years or more. This variety requires a different selection of the same species growing nearby in order to set fruit.

This shrub does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers to grow in moist to wet soil, and will even tolerate some standing water. It is very fussy about its soil conditions and must have rich, acidic soils to ensure success, and is subject to chlorosis (yellowing) of the foliage in alkaline soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This is a selection of a native North American species.

This plant is not reliably hardy in our region, and certain restrictions may apply; contact the store for more information.