With its mass of flowers in late summer, and a profusion of berries throughout winter, Symphoricarpos Symphony makes a beautiful addition to an autumn and winter garden!
How to grow Symphoricarpos Symphony Flowering time: August to September Location: Shrub borders, wildlife garden, winter garden, dry woodland garden Soil: Well-draining soil Light: Full sun to partial shade Water: Water while establishing and throughout dry spells Care: Prune and fertilise in spring Size: 90cm height and spread |
What’s different about Symphoricarpos Symphony?
This is one of the strongest and most easy-going shrubs – perfect for beginner gardeners who want to add a low-maintenance plant into their garden, which provides autumn and winter interest, when everything else has faded.
Not only that, but Symphony is a particularly floriferous and, as the title of this article mentions, berrylicious plant! Available in colours with musical names – Rave, Rock and Rumble – these snowberry plants vary from white to deep pink. My personal favourite has to be the ‘rhubarb and cream’ style palette of Symphony Rock!
Ideal for wildlife stocking up for the winter, Symphony produces flowers which, when pollinated by insects, give way to their iconic winter berries, which are beloved by certain birds.
How was Symphoricarpos Symphony created?
Symphoricarpos Symphony was created by Guido Rouwette, whom you may know as the creator of Hydrangea ‘Little Spooky’. The plant took approximately eight years to progress from selection to test and market – and it has been well worth the wait for this fantastically resilient plant!
Its journey began as a crossing with Guido’s mother plants, which were also sowing selections from previous crossings. Alongside its floral abundance, Symphony was selected for its mildew resistance and the fact that its leaves continue to look beautiful even when the berries are present! It was also noted that the plant features straight branches that allow the plant to remain upright, and its mass of berries are present for a long time – until the first frost.
Where can you plant Symphoricarpos Symphony?
Plant your Symphoricarpos Symphony in an area with full sun to partial shade, in well-draining soil – and you can’t go wrong!
This plant blends well into shrub borders and hedging, and would look great when accompanied by other deciduous and/or berry producing shrubs and small trees, such as meadowsweets (Spirea), viburnum, cotoneaster, hawthorn and cherry or apple trees.
Where can you buy Symphoricarpos Symphony?
Symphoricarpos Symphony is available to buy in the UK from Stewarts, and in the EU from Pflanzmich and Promesse de Fleurs.
Plant of the Month is sponsored by Plantipp, a company based in The Netherlands who handle the introduction of new plants into Europe.
See every Plant of the Month here.
Images courtesy of Plantipp.
The post The berrylicious Symphoricarpos Symphony appeared first on Michael Perry - Mr Plant Geek.