Other Names:  Lavender Starflower

Description:

A small scrambling shrub that features deep green glossy foliage and beautiful purple star shaped flowers in the spring; a wonderful decorative selection great for large containers; produces small red, edible berries, great for fresh eating or drying

Edible Qualities

Crossberry is a medium-sized shrub that is commonly grown for its edible qualities. It produces small brick red round berries which are typically harvested when mature. The berries have a sweet taste.

The berries are most often used in the following ways:

• Fresh Eating
• Preserves
• Drying

Features & Attributes

Crossberry features showy lavender star-shaped flowers along the branches from early spring to early summer. It has dark green evergreen foliage. The serrated oval leaves remain dark green throughout the winter. It produces brick red berries from mid summer to early fall.

This is a multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with an upright spreading habit of growth. 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 is a relatively low maintenance plant, and can be pruned at anytime. It is a good choice for attracting birds, bees and butterflies to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Aside from its primary use as an edible, Crossberry is sutiable for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Hedges/Screening
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Crossberry will grow to be about 8 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 8 feet. It has a low canopy, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 40 years or more.

This plant is typically grown in a designated edibles garden. It does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. 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 species is not originally from North America..

Crossberry is a good choice for the edible garden, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. With its upright habit of growth, it is best suited for use as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.