Berry Bushes That Change Colors

USDA Zones 2 and 3

• Viburnum opulus var. americanum, cv. "Hahs," is a cultivar of the American cranberry bush suitable for U.S. Department of Agriculture Plant Hardiness zones 2 and 3. These cold regions do not prevent this berry bush from thriving; it grows between 6 and 8 feet high. Hahs changes from green to dark shades of reddish-purple in autumn. Its berries develop from cream-white May blossoms, changing colors as they ripen before finally turning red.

  Look for Regent, a cultivar of alder-leaved serviceberry (Amelanchier alnifolia), to turn red and yellow in the fall. Regent grows as tall as 6 feet, blooms in April and generates purplish fruit resembling blueberries. The berries are edible and often used in jams.

USDA Zone 4 and 5

• Black chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa) grows in USDA zones 4 and 5 to heights between 3 and 5 feet. This multi-stemmed bush has what the University of Connecticut Plant Database calls "dependable and showy" fall color, including purple and orange. Black chokeberry's black-purple fruits are astringent, but birds will resort to eating them when other food supplies dry up.

  Ilex verticillata, cv. "Winter Gold," is a deciduous cultivar of holly, known as winterberry, for zones 4 and 5. The bush features orange-red berries that remain visible on the twigs into winter. The dark green foliage changes to colors such as yellow and bronze in autumn. Winter Gold is suitable for use as a hedge.

USDA Zone 6 and 7

• Tea viburnum (Viburnum setigerum) is a Chinese bush for USDA zones 6 and 7. The red berries develop so profusely on the shrub that they weigh down the branches. Tea viburnum works as a screen or specimen plant, with its leaves going to purple when summer ends.

  Colors like red, purple and orange highlight the Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii) in fall. Grown in zones 6 and 7 to define property lines as hedges or as a barrier plant, Japanese barberry is between 3 and 6 feet high. The berries take on a bright red color by October.

USDA Zone 8 and 9

• The glossy green color of Ilex decidua, cv. "Council Fire," gives way to yellow shades in autumn in USDA zones 8 and 9. Council Fire grows between 6 and 12 feet high, producing white May flowers. Only the female bushes generate the red berries, meaning a male specimen needs to be somewhere nearby if you desire fruit. According to the Missouri Botanical Garden, a single male bush pollinates as many as 10 female plants.

  The fruits on blackhaw viburnum (Viburnum prunifolium) start out pink before a metamorphosis to black. The green leaves change to purple on this bush, which sometimes grows to 15 feet. Blackhaw viburnum comes in a cultivar called Early Red, which changes to dark red in fall.