• Blog
    • General Gardening
    • Gardening for Children
    • Gardening Videos
    • Insect Pests
    • Landscape Design
    • Trees
    • Vegetables & Fruits
    • Weeds
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Event Announcements
  • Gardening Videos
  • Resources
    • Online Resources
      • Soil Testing Information for Home Gardeners
    • Western North Carolina Gardening Guide
  • The Learning Garden
    • The Learning Garden Program Schedule – 2023
  • Youth Outreach
  • Garden Helpline
    • Collecting Samples of Plants and Insects
  • About Us
    • About Us
      • How to Become an Extension Master GardenerSM Volunteer
    • The Association
    • Contact Us
    • Speakers Bureau
    • Sponsors
    • Donate
Extension Master GardenerSM Volunteers of Buncombe County
Blog / Shrubs / Plants with Winter Interest

Plants with Winter Interest

February 8, 2016

In just a few months, we’ll be flocking to the nurseries and garden centers hunting for the perfect plant. We’ll look at flowering color and form, leaf texture and color, and hopefully consider sunlight and moisture requirements.

When searching for that perfect shrub or tree, remember where we live. Our deciduous trees and shrubs are without their leaves almost half of the year. To make the garden more interesting in those months, think about the plant structure, color and texture of the bark, and berries that will be a focal point in a dormant garden.

Now is a time to visit nurseries to see the plants without their foliage. Of course, their stock of plants is less during the non-growing season. There are many beautiful winter interest plants. Here are a few of my favorites.

Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick

Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick (Corylus avellana ‘Contorta’) has twisting contorted branches giving it a sculptural effect in the garden. Plant it where it can be admired and grow into a small tree or large shrub. It prefers full sun to a little shade. It also has yellow catkins that hang from the branches in late winter. Its summer leaves are coarse and dark green.

Red Stemmed Dogwood

Another plant is magnificent when planted as a mass. The red or yellow stemmed dogwood (cornus alba and cornus sericea) have brightly colored stems true to their name. In the summer they are just shrubby plants that reach 5 to 9 feet tall, but in the winter, the brightly colored stems stand out in a gray landscape. When planted in a group of one color, the effect is intensified.

Winterberry

Winterberry (Ilex verticillata) a 6 to 15 foot tall shrub native to the eastern US, has bright red berries that hang on throughout the winter. That is if the bears or robins don’t eat them. A single male plant is needed among the females. Sun to part-shade and adaptability to many types of soil, including wet areas, make it suitable for many gardens.

There are also many different conifers that give interest and color in the winter garden. When winter is finally over and the urge to dig and plant returns, don’t forget those lovely plants with winter interest. You’ll be glad next winter.

By Lorraine Cipriano, Extension Master Gardener Volunteer

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)

Categories Shrubs Tags deciduous shrubs, winter garden

NC Cooperative Extension; Empowering People, Providing Solutions

Blog posts written and published by Extension Master GardenerSM volunteers in Buncombe County.

Subscribe via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to our blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 3,786 other subscribers

Recent Posts

  • Rose Pests and Pathogens, April 13
  • Gardening Video: Bountiful Backyard Berries
  • Online Seminar: Fruit Trees for Home Gardens, April 10
  • Climbing Roses, April 6
  • Gardening Video: Terrariums: Gardens Under Glass

Categories

  • Events
    • Extension in Buncombe County
    • Extension Master Gardener Plant Clinic
    • Lectures & Seminars
    • Plant Sales
    • School Garden Grants
  • Flowers
    • Bulbs
    • Perennials & Biennials
    • Roses
    • Wildflowers
  • Gardening for Children
  • Gardening Videos
  • General Gardening
    • Installation & Planting
    • Mulch
    • Native Plants
    • Propagation
    • Seasonal Chores
    • Soils & Fertilizers
  • Houseplants
  • Landscaping
    • Firewise Landscaping
    • Landscape Design
    • Site Conditions
    • Water Management
  • Lawns
  • Pest Management
    • Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
    • Invasive Plants
    • Pesticides
    • Weeds
  • Plant Diseases
  • Plant Insects
    • Beneficial Insects
    • Insect Pests
    • Invasive Insects
  • Shrubs
  • Special Gardens
    • Container Gardens
    • Herb Gardens
    • Pollinator Gardens
    • Rain Gardens
    • Shade Gardens
  • Trees
  • Vegetables & Fruits
  • Wildlife

Contact Us

Buncombe County Extension Office
49 Mount Carmel Road
Asheville, NC 28806
Helpline 828-255-5522

Events

Keep up with our events by subscribing to the blog or checking our Events Calendar.

Explore the Archives

Back to Top

Copyright © 2023 Extension Master Gardeners of Buncombe County. Privacy Policy.