Birds Love The Berries Of A Bayberry Shrub

The Myrtle Warbler, or the western counterpart, Audubon’s warbler, is the most abundant warbler and wanders farther north than any other. It breeds throughout northern coniferous woodlands, showing preference for the more open stands and borders of clearings. In migration, myrtles occur everywhere and are especially abundant in brushy areas, hedgerows, field borders, gardens and weedy tangles.

Although most of these warblers spend their winter in the southern part of the United States and range as far as northern South America, a large number come to rest in our northern states and remain there for the cold weather.

The myrtle warbler is one of the few warblers that can subsist for long periods upon berries and seeds, though undoubtedly it prefers insects when it can get them. Along the shores of large bodies of water during the winter, many flies rise from the seaweed in sheltered spots on mild days, even in January. There are also eggs of plant lice and some hibernating insects to be found on trees and shrubs.

But the principal food of the myrtle warbler during the inclement season is the bayberry bush. So delighted by these berries their travels seem to be largely dependent by the failure or success of the bayberry crop. The "wax" of this fruit is chemically a true fat, hence digestible and heat-productive.

Unfortunately, now that thousands of European starlings remain on our sea-coasts for the winter, the bayberries are devoured earlier in the season than would be the case were the berries left to the native birds alone. We may expect the wintering myrtles gradually to disappear from our coastal regions if the starlings continue to increase at their present rate. Therefore, any planting of bayberry shrubs by home owners and gardeners not only enhances esthetic values but also aids in conservation.

The bayberry, sometimes called wax-myrtle or candleberry, Myrica pensylcanica, is a fine ornamental noted for its aromatic semi-evergreen foliage and attractive fruit. It grows well in sandy and poor soils and tolerates salt spray.

The northern variety grows to a height of about 9 feet, while the southern form, Myrica cerifera, becomes a small tree. The latter prefers moist and peaty soils. In both varieties, the sexes are separate so that pistillate and staminate flowering plants must be grown, in close proximity to insure production of the very ornamental, grayish white berries. They remain on the plant for several seasons.

If the berries are boiled, the wax will melt from the fruit and come to the surface. This can then be cooled and skimmed over to be used for making bayberry candles, which give off a pleasant odor as they burn. In early American homes the boiled roots produced a tea for headaches; while the bark was used for poultices and for jaundice. The Scottish people use the leaves for brewing in place of hops.

Bayberries make handsome shrubs for our gardens, are excellent material for interior decorating and arrangements, and serve as food for over 90 species of birds.

Additional Bayberry Info & Flower Gardening Tips

Attracting Bluebirds

The Connecticut Botanical Society lists many of these plus mountain laurel, bayberry, rosebay, some azaleas, fragrant sumac, high bush blueberry, plus others.

Garden Design, Perennial Flower Gardening, Gardening Tips

Garden Design, Perrenial Flower Gardening, Gardening Tips. One miniature ornamental shrub that I will be adding to my plant assortment next season is in the Barberry family. Berberis shrubs are dense and thorny, with foliage in the red to purple shades. Some gardeners use them as hedge plants.

Larry’s Photo A Day: Barberry Shrub

I took this photo about a month ago of my barberry bush. It really has quite a nice pattern of various colors. On the color wheel that would be called an analogous color scheme.

Winter’s Cold Wind Needn’t End Garden’s Enjoyment

Barberry and bayberry drop their leaves in the winter, but both have showy berries; reddish-orange egg-shaped on barberry and a waxy gray green fruit on bayberry.

Winter Resistant Plants And Shrubs

If you are looking for a winter resistant shrub with fruit that won’t attract the deer throughout the seasons, the bayberry shrub is an excellent choice. For those homeowners who enjoy birds munching in the spring, summer and fall.

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Among the broad-leaved evergreens which hold places of high esteem as garden subjects, several species of the Asiatic genus photinia command particular attention. Chinese photinia (P. serrulata) is the best of these generally available for areas of moderate climate. At least three others introduced by E. H. Wilson were highly regarded in their native land and it is unfortunate that after so many years they are not better known here.

Photinias are limited in their natural distribution to the Japanese islands and eastern Asia. These plants have much in common with shadbushes and chokeberries, and their brilliant fruits carried in rounded panicles show close relationship to mountain-ashes. Another close relative is the popular toyon or Christmas-berry of California. The best known deciduous species, P. villosa, has been widely planted in Europe and North America, and it is not at all uncommon to find volunteer seedlings establishing themselves in many districts. Although a vigorous and attractive subject, this shrub has no marked advantages over the deciduous cousins noted above nor over the many fine stranvaesia or ornamental crabapples.

This is far from the case with Photinia serrulata, however. When one thinks of adding lustrous evergreen leaves with rich coppery red and pink tones in spring to the well-known beauties of shadbushes and crabapples, the prospect is exciting indeed. A British East India Company captain brought the first plants of Chinese photinia back with him from Canton in 1804. Within a few years Captain Kirkpatrick’s prize had become very popular and was fairly well distributed among gardening enthusiasts.

Shoots and young leaves of this plant command immediate attention because of their striking reddish coloration: buds, petioles and midribs usually retain this effect. The leaves are more or less oblong, from 4 to 8 inches long and with finely toothed margins, as the scientific name indicates. Oddly enough, although the leaves are evergreen and usually remain on the branchlets through the winter and even for several months longer in mild areas, they often show fine autumn coloration in tones of pink, something after the fashion of Carolina rhododendrons.

In earliest spring, even in March in Florida, Texas and Georgia, terminal buds expand into graceful rounded panicles, with many branches eventually measuring up to 6 inches across. Jewel-like flower buds open to show five petals and 20 delicate stamens at the center. Though less than half an inch across individually, these delicate flowers are showy because of their numbers as well as their setting lustrous evergreen foliage.

Berry-like fruits about 1/4 inch across mature during the summer and standout with increasing effectiveness as they turn bright red in the autumn. Their beauty and excellent lasting qualities in early winter have led to the name Christmas-berry being applied occasionally to this species, although this should be reserved for the relative found in California.

Chinese photinias have the reputation of growing best near large bodies of water, and this may be one reason for their popularity along the Pacific Coast. In the eastern states, it is doubtful they can be depended on farther north than Cape Cod, even near the coast, and plantings north of Maryland should be made with special care. It is interesting to note that a fine 8- to 10- foot specimen has been famous on Long Island, and several of about half this stature can be found in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

After you buy, a warm loamy soil and a situation offering protection from winds are the first things to look for in selecting a location for these photinias. Temperatures much below 5 degrees Fahrenheit for any length of time will cause damage unless the setting has been selected to bring about thorough ripening of growth towards middle or late summer. Dryness of the soil will accomplish this effectively, and yet, if foliage is to remain rich and lustrous, moisture must be fairly constant through autumn and winter. Plants should be set out only in early spring, with every encouragement to promote extensive root and shoot growth in May and June but a gradual tapering off by midsummer.

In most situations these shrubs are best grown as rounded specimens with many stems from the ground. In mild sections where winter injury is rarely a factor they can be developed as small trees with a single trunk. Striking foliage effects, in addition to attractive flowers and fruits, make these photinias feature subjects. Specimens can be used for accent and variety in border plantings framing a lawn or formal garden picture. They are also appropriate near large buildings where the transitions from one stage to another can be watched from windows and porches throughout the year.

Appropriate companion subjects include flowering cherries, camellias, magnolias and other first-rank garden favorites. It is also difficult to surpass the effect of a photinia or two in a grouping with fine specimens of pines and other tree conifers.

Pruning Red Tip Photinias

More On Photinias

Photinia Pink Marble

In recent years we’ve all got used to those photinias with their bright red young growth. They’re evergreen, vigorous, easy to grow, and colourful.

Japanese Photinia in Autumn

I took this photo today. These small trees are Japanese Photinia. It is popular as hedge. Those red ( not green ) leaves are fresh leaves. ( Colour of the leaf turns to green from red ).

Photinia Red Robin Leaf Spot – How To Keep It Under Control

Photinia Red Robin Leaf Spot can be unsightly but there is no need to use chemicals – follow our tips and keep the spots at bay.

Photinia

I love this shrub – it has lovely green leaves that change to russety brown and little clusters of white flowers in spring. I would like another one to put somewhere else in the garden too but we are running out of room!

Red-tipped Photinia X Fraseri And Photinia Serrulata

Also, siting photinia where air circulation is best helps (though that doesn’t help your already-huge shrubs, does it?) This means not planting them too close to each other, as is often done to create hedges.

As we continue to provide information on flower gardening for beginners and flower gardening tips on a variety of flowering plants like the Photinia please let us know of any other topics you may be interested in.

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To the beginning gardener the idea of tucking plants under cover in the fall may seem a natural and desirable way to keep them warm during winter. But he soon learns that it is not cold that does most damage to perennial plants, but unseasonable warmth. This, of course, does not apply to plants of questionable hardiness in any locality; they are not considered here.

Plants of proven hardiness may be relied upon to survive cold weather, even benefit from it, both roots and tops. Winterizing garden plants in general, protection is needed to prevent the soil from thawing out; for evergreens in particular, protection is used to minimize the drying effect of winter winds and sunshine upon the leaves.

The top growth of plants in the winter garden, of course, is subjected to much colder temperatures than their roots. The soil in even our coldest areas rarely freezes deeper than 3 to 4 feet. Lowest temperatures are found in a hard frozen crust at the surface. Even that is rarely colder than zero and tends to insulate the soil below it, where the temperature rises rapidly the deeper you go. Air temperatures fall much lower, and occasionally rise much higher than those in the soil. When this happens trouble starts.

Herbaceous perennials with tops that die down to the ground in a winter garden have relatively shallow roots. When an unseasonably warm spell thaws a few inches of the frozen soil crust, puddles are created where water stands. This excludes air from the plant tissues below it, which may cause disease, decay and death. If the water stands long enough the plants will drown.

When alternate freezing and thawing spells are frequent, heaving may lift shallow-rooted plants entirely out of the soil, or raise them enough so that they lose contact with soil moisture. If this goes unnoticed until too late for correction, the plants will die.

Protect Outdoor Plants & Shrubs In The Winter

A mulch to winterize the soil over herbaceous plants, put in place after a frozen crust has formed in the fall, tends to stabilize soil temperature, forestall thawing, and save the plants from frost heaving. The shallower the roots of the plants, the more necessary the mulch is to winterize the plants.

Peonies and iris suffer considerably from frost heaving. All plants that maintain green crowns through the winter, such as: foxgloves, Canterbury bells, primulas and chrysanthemums, are highly susceptible to decay from surface water and excessive dampness. The mulch protecting these particular plants must admit light and air to the green foliage, otherwise it will die and the plant will starve.

Excelsior, glass wool, evergreen boughs and old baskets inverted over the plants are often used to give protective shade while admitting both light and air. Where there is no green growth above the soil surface, materials such as dried leaves, straw, marsh and salt hay, dried lawn clippings, sphagnum moss, peat moss and strawy manure serve the purpose.

"Mulch" comes from a word root meaning decay. Apparently, strawy manure was the original mulch, and (its use is ancient. Fifty years ago it was commonly spread over lawns in the fall, where it did more harm than good, contributing an annual sowing of weed seeds. Lawns need no mulch over winter, but they do suffer almost every spring from frost heaving. A light roller should be used after the soil begins to dry out to press the turf in contact with the earth.

A planting of bulbs of doubtful hardiness will find the soil much warmer when a mulch is strewn over the ground above them. If it is heavy enough, it may cause the ground to thaw to the surface. Snow, said to be the ideal mulch, often does this when it lies several inches deep for many days.

Even in the best regulated gardens, setting out of hardy bulbs is sometimes delayed until late fall. A mulch applied after planting and before the soil freezes will keep it from freezing and permit the bulbs to make roots much later than otherwise. Since the soft soil attracts hungry field mice the practice is not advisable except where late planting makes it necessary.

Roots of deciduous trees and bulbs hardy in your area need protection only when newly planted. Then, a mulch keeps the moisture in the soil to prolong the fall season during which new root growth can develop.

A drying out which would easily be survived by a deciduous plant during its dormant period may kill an evergreen, which transpires water throughout the winter. While the ground is frozen, roots are limited to moisture already in the soil. A permanent mulch on the surface around each plant is beneficial and should be replenished each fall. Before hard freezing, the ground should be soaked deeply several times, to insure a reserve water supply.

Evergreens exposed to drying winds and direct sunlight may need to be shaded by artificial means. Burlap-covered frames are often set up with this aim in view. Laths nailed one inch apart to a supporting frame are also useful. Large baskets may be set bottoms up over small plants.

The foliage of evergreens occasions another difficulty; it often catches enough snow along extended branches to break them. Strong twine wound around the tree, holding the branches close to the trunk will prevent such damage.

Winterizing garden Bush roses are usually protected by piling garden soil 6 to 12 inches high around their stems. In colder areas, the spaces between plants are filled with strawy manure or compost and the bed then covered with a one-foot layer of leaves, straw or similar material.

Wood of rose bushes rarely kills back below the point reached by the piled-up soil. In the spring, dead wood is cut out and stems chosen for development are cut back to selected buds. This method produces low-growing plants. If taller roses are desired, the roots of a plant may be loosened on one side and the plant bent down to the ground, where the stems are covered heavily with soil.

Climbing rambler roses are usually hardy without protection, but the canes may be laid on the ground and covered with soil, straw or evergreen boughs, after the old canes are pruned out.

Winterizing garden plants in rock gardens, where true rock plants rather than a miscellaneous assembly are grown, by following these tips. No heavy mulching materials such as manure, dead leaves, peat-moss, etc., should be spread over the plants, since the remedy is apt to cause more trouble than the weather.

Evergreen boughs, glass wool, excelsior and other materials that let in air and light are the solution, especially for plants that retain green top growth over winter. These provide shade from winter sun and reduce frost heaving and puddles resulting from warm weather. Beware of coverings that harbor field mice, though.

A vital point in all winter protection is good surface drainage for the whole garden, lawns as well as borders. Standing water during winter thaws is always a hazard to plants. Thus, it is important to provide low places where such water naturally collects, with means of draining it away. Even though it may mean digging temporary drainage ditches in some cases, avoiding those icy puddles around prized plantings is of primary importance to next year’s garden.

More Help

Winterizing The Garden

Getting the yard and the house set up with Christmas lights is a great time to think about winterizing the garden. You can put a string of Christmas lights around sensitive plants. I put a string around my aloes and my citrus plant.

How to Winterize Your Lawn For a Beautiful Spring Lawn

Garden and Landscape Ideas. If you’re someone who likes to do things on the spur of the moment it is probably a foreign concept for you.

Winterize A Garden

When things get chilly, it’s time to put your garden to bed for the winter. What, you didn’t know that gardens hibernate just like squirrels and bears? I kid.

How to Winterize Your Lawn

Winterizing is especially helpful if the lawn isn’t in optimal health to begin with. One backyard plan you can use will help you do your landscaping. You should never go to a garden center and just buy whatever plants you see.

Fall and Winter Gardening Tips

Family First review of Fall and Winter Gardening Tips.

How to Make Flowers Last Through Winter

Even beginners can grow roses with little trouble when learn the basics of maintenance. There are some gorgeous ideas for backyard rose gardening. Here you will find some rose and flower gardening tips for the beginner.

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No plantings are stronger or finer than fragrant hyacinth flowers, provided your garden is large enough so that they can be used for spectacular effects. In formal beds, too, the hyacinth flower can be used to advantage.

Contrasting colors of pansies between flowering hyacinth plantings are delightful. With City of Haarlem, dark purple, grape or deep blue pansies make an enchanting picture. And white L’Innocence grown in a long narrow bed with yellow pansies forms a charming design. Hyacinth pictures are always more effective when you use these bulbs in solid variety groups rather than in mixed colors.

If your soil is heavy and clayey, lighten it with sandy loam before planting hyacinth flowers.

Flowering Purple Hyacinth

TULIPS come next on our planting list. How can you plant them so that you will not have to take them up each season and yet achieve year-in-year-out bloom? The secret is to set them deep, at least 8 or even 10 inches down, and then leave them alone. Last spring the tulips which I planted ten years ago flowered as beautifully and unanimously as the first year.

CROCUS are not used by many growers for spring bloom, but if you can find money and space for them, ‘put them in. They are long-lasting and easy to grow, and bloom so early in such soft and beautiful colors that we all should use them.

SCILLA HISPANICA (S. campanulata), which you can find in a variety of soft and dainty colors, are also long-lasting and easily grown. Blue scilla is worth-while anywhere. A particular advantage of scilla is that the foliage disappears almost as soon as the flowers fade.

LILIES are musts in every southern garden. And most desirable of all are the Centifolium Olympic hybrids. Just give them a place in the border, and year after year their lovely white bells will appear in increasing numbers.

The Bellingham hybrids afford a range of brilliant colors in these fine lilies. The Fiesta hybrids are also sparkling.

CRINUM bulbs are very large and should be planted shallowly. The plants like half shade, and do well in mixed borders.

More On Hyacinths

Water Hyacinth Field

Large beautiful water hyacinth fields bloom more and more these days. The water hyacinths’ flower is used as vegetable in Cambodia.

Growing Hyacinths for Your Christmas Decoration

My grandmother used to have hyacinths for every Christmas as part and parcel of the decoration. A lovely smell of fresh flowers pervaded the more commonly known Christmas smell. She used hyacinth glasses to force grow the bulbs.

5 Components Of American Colonial Flower Arrangements

Bulb flowers are also appropriate in American Colonial design. Examples are daffodils, tulips, hyacinth, allium, ranunculus and lilies. Popular wildflowers and filler flowers used in this style include baby’s breath (very popular).

Daffodils And Hyacinth Beautiful In Drifts

Hyacinth roots are brittle. If they dry out the tips of the roots harden, so keep the soil nicely moist at all times. Bring the pots to light when the flower spikes have emerged above the foliage.

Hyacinths

As I’m looking to grow my hyacinths indoors for Christmas, I’m looking for prepared bulbs. This means the bulbs should flower much more quickly. Remember – once you’ve bought your bulbs you should aim to get them planted within a week.

List Of Flowers For Every Season: Keep A Flower Garden In Bloom

The beautiful zinnia adds texture and interest while the peony provides a lovely fragrance difficult to match. Hyacinth, cherry blossom, sweet pea and amaryllis are among other wonderful spring blooms.

Flower Gardening Tips

Flower Gardening Tips. Flower gardening has first started when farmers did not eliminate weeds from their crops because they liked their colors.

Eight Fall Bulb Planting Tips

Many bulb planting tips (such as the ones below) will apply as a general rule, but you can’t beat local know-how. A local nursery can help you plan for the best bulb planting adventure.

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