Dramatic Red Winter Plants

Berries

• Evergreen and deciduous hollies make good choices for a winter show of red. Winterberry holly, Ilex verticillata, drops its leaves in fall, revealing its vivid berries on otherwise bare branches. "Winter Red" is a variety with large, dark-red berries that can last through winter--or until the birds finish feasting on them. It must be planted with a male variety like "Southern Gentleman" to produce berries. "Winter Red" grows 6 to 8 feet tall and is hardy to USDA Zone 4. Among other red-berried plants is the low-growing cranberry cotoneaster (cotoneaster apiculatus). After its tiny leaves turn crimson and drop in the fall, clusters of cranberry-red berries persist through winter. The plant grows 3 feet tall and 3 to 6 feet wide. It is hardy in Zones 5 to 7.

Foliage

• Nandina domestica plants are known for their ever-changing leaves, in shades of green, yellow, orange and red. The foliage of "Firepower" nandina turns bright red in the fall and winter. The plant grows 3 to 4 feet fall and 2 to 3 feet wide. "Firepower" is hardy in Zones 5 to 9. Plant the "Hinode-giri" dwarf azalea for a small shrub that offers more than masses of spring flowers. This azalea's leaves turn bright red in the fall and stay that way through the winter. The plant grows 2 to 3 feet tall and wide and is hardy in Zones 5 to 9.

Branches

• Some varieties of dogwoods and blueberries display brightly colored branches after their leaves drop in the fall. For blueberry plants with red branches, plant "Toro" and "Spartan" in Zones 4-7, or "Brigitta" in Zones 5-8. Cornus sericea, known as "redtwig" or redosier dogwood, is a multi-stemmed deciduous shrub with red winter twigs. "Red Cardinal," a variety with bright-red stems, was developed by the University of Minnesota. These dogwoods are hardy to Zone 2. They can grow 10 feet tall and wider.

Flowers

• Plant the "Yuletide" Camellia sasanqua and you'll enjoy dramatic red blooms with hot yellow centers in early winter. "Yuletide" is hardy to zone 7. Its blooming period depends on your climate, but flowering can begin in late November and continue into January. The shrub grows 8 to 10 feet tall and 6 to 8 feet wide. Brighten your mid-winter garden with the exotic, spidery blooms of fragrant witch hazel, Hamamelis x intermedia. Red-hued varieties include "Diane," "Carmine Red," "Fire Charm" and "Ruby Glow." Witch hazels are deciduous shrubs that grow 12 to 15 feet tall. They are hardy in zones 5 to 9.