Northeast Native Shrubs With Red Berries

Varieties and Geography

• The red chokeberry (Aronia arbutifolia) grows from Nova Scotia south into Florida. The spicebush (Lindera benzoin) is a Northeast native, hardy to U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zone 4 in Maine southward. Cold hardy to zone 2, ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius) grows from Quebec to Tennessee. Fragrant sumac (Rhus aromatica) withstands zone 3 cold in the Northeast and is native in much of the eastern half of the United States. Canadian yew (Taxodium canadensis), with its red berrylike fruits containing its seeds, grows from zone 2 in Canada southward to New England and parts of the Midwest. Witherod viburnum (Viburnum cassinoides) takes its nickname of northern viburnum because it primarily hails from the Northeast, notes the Missouri Botanical Garden.

Size and Form

• Developing many thin stems, red chokeberry grows between 6 and 10 feet high. Spicebush shows a rounded, open form, developing to 8 to 12 feet in height. Ninebark, with upright branches spreading out from its multiple stems, matures to between 6 and 10 feet. Fragrant sumac is smaller than many of its relatives, growing from 2 to 6 feet high, but spreading out as wide as 10 feet. Canadian yew is a low-growing evergreen bush, 3 to 6 feet tall but 6 to 8 feet in width.

Colors

• Bright red fall color is a staple of the red chokeberry; its leaves combine with the astringent red fruits to deliver crimson to the landscape. Spicebush is equally as colorful, but yellow to gold is its hue in fall. Ninebark's dull yellow fall color is not ornamental, but its peeling, red, brown and tan bark is. Red, purple and orange tints highlight the foliage of fragrant sumac. It has red berries in clusters along its branches by August. Canadian yew is a needled evergreen, but its green color takes on a reddish shade in winter, notes the University of Connecticut Plant Database. Witherod viburnum's foliage goes to shades of orange, red and purple in fall, while its berries are red for only a short while as they transition from pink to eventual black.

Cultivars

• "Brilliantissima" is a heavily fruiting cultivar of red chokeberry known for its bigger red berries. Avoid cultivars of spicebush such as "Green Gold" and "Rubra" if you desire the red fruits, since they are non-fruiting forms. Yellow leaves are a feature of "Dart's Gold," a ninebark cultivar for the Northeast. "Gro-Low" is a type of fragrant sumac. This female form delivers red berries, but only gets to about 24 inches tall. "Stricta" is a Canadian yew with upright stems, while "Deep Pink" is a form of withered viburnum found in Maine, with pinkish fruits.