Garden Bushes That Attract Wild Birds

USDA Zones 2 and 3

• Among the birds that devour the fruits of the American cranberrybush (Viburnum opulus var. americanum) are northern flickers, redpolls and grosbeaks. Cold hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 2 and 3, this shrub grows to 12 feet, blooms in April and May and produces fruit that ripens by September. The purple-leaved sand cherry (Prunus x cistena) generates fruit edible for birds by July. Its red-purple foliage makes the bush stand out in a landscape in zones 2 and 3, where it grows between 6 and 10 feet high.

USDA Zones 4 and 5

• Clusters of red berries turn ripe in the fall on smooth sumac (Rhus glabra), a bush appropriate for use in USDA zones 4 and 5. Smooth sumac attracts as many as 98 different kinds of birds, which employ it for shelter as well. The shrub features showy fall colors on its compound leaves, notes the University of Connecticut Plant Database, growing to 15 feet high. Robins, cardinals and chickadees all include coralberry (Symphoricarpos orbiculatus) fruits in their diets. This shrub easily handles the worst winters in zones 4 and 5, being cold hardy to zone 2. Coralberry grows to 5 feet, with its early summer flowers producing colorful berries for birds.

USDA Zones 6 and 7

• The seeds of summersweet (Clethra alnifolia), a multistemmed bush native to eastern states, stay on the shrub through the winter for birds to eat. In zones 6 and 7, Summersweet grows as tall as 8 feet and the bush comes in different cultivars such as "Hummingbird" and "Pink Spires." Woodpeckers and catbirds are just two species attracted to the red-osier dogwood (Cornus sericea). Zones 6 and 7 are the warmest zones this bush grows in, with the species attaining sizes up to 9 feet high. The fruit is typically more ornamental than the foliage, notes the Missouri Botanical Garden, making it easily identifiable for birds.

USDA Zones 8 and 9

• Possum haw (Ilex decidua) grows to 15 feet in the heat of USDA zones 8 and 9, making it suitable for nesting sites for birds. This type of holly bush is a source of food for birds like the waxwing and thrasher. The fruits turn ripe by autumn; deer and other mammals as well as birds eat them throughout the winter. Plant winterberry (Ilex verticillata) in your bird gardens in zones 8 and 9. It blooms in June, generating large amounts of red berries by the end of summer. The fruits dominate the landscape, and birds such as finches and thrushes find the berries palatable.