Evening star., 1953-10-18


towering bulbs, perennials and
ANIMALS, gardeners turn to the
brightly colored autumn leaves
and the berried shrubs. Many
trees and shrubs in the Wash
ington area put on colorful
showing each fall. but this year,
although the berries seem to be
unusually colorful, the drought
has dulled the color of many
trees. Even the fruits on the
dogwoodS are a brighter Grim
son than usual. Some dogwood
trees are brilliant with their
fruits.
The choice of shrubs for the
yard should be made with fall
color values in mind as well as
their ultimate size and spring
bloom. To make a selection in
this manner would reverse the
usual procedure. Nevertheless, If
we are to get the maximum en-
ployment from our paintings we
will take all of these factors into
consideration.
AS indicated, the dogwoods
have a brilliant display of fruit
and the foliage turns wine red
persisting much longer than the
berries, which are the favorite
food of several birds.
A Red and Yellow Display.
The European burning bush
(EuonymaS alatus), which grows
to about 8 feet, but can be
kept lower, has brilliantly col
ored foliage in the fall and its
tiny little fruit capsules open
to show a red and yellow dis
play that is more interesting
than spectacular.
The green foliage, semiever-
green firethorn (PyracanthA
coccinea, var. LalandD is ever
popular, although sometimes the
owners are disappointed in the
freedom Of fruiting. The fire.
thorn is subject to pple scab,
the disease that attacks and de-
Stroys the fruit on apples. This
trouble is most prevalent in wet
springs, but especially when the
frethornS are planted i'll shady
situation. In sunny situations,
or when protected by sprays, the
fruits are produced in abund-
ance and make an attractive
showing. The f1rethorn is an
agreeable shrub because it may
be trained against a wall and
will grow to Is or 20 feet. 1t
also may be trained into an at
tractive low hedge, growing
equally well in light shade or
full sun. And, the f1rethorn
makes an excellent shrub in the
border.
To this colorful parade we
must not overlook the violet
colored fruit of the beauty ber-
ry (Callicarpa americana). The
flowers are inconspicuous and
the foliage is not especially out
standing. but the fall fruit dis
play provokes admiration at ev-
cry fall flower show. when
shown. The beauty berry is
barely hardy in this area-the
tWigS often freeze back-but
this is of no especial significance
since the flowers and fruits are
borne on new wood and the
beauty berry should be pruned
severely in the spring. In the
protected situations winter
killing of branches is usually
slight. The berries last well into
the early winter.
For LOng-LaSting Beauty.
For long-laSting beauty we
should not overlook the flower
ing crabs. Some of them hold
their fruits late into the winter,
but others drop them early. The
Siberian crab drops its fruit
in August, but BechtePs crab
holds it's fruit into the early fall.
The towering crabs have various
colors of fruits-yellow. red,
wine-red and carmine, purple
and green. The combination Of
flowers in the spring and snowy
fruits in the fall indicates the
extra values of this tree.
The cotoneaSterS are often
mentioned for their display Of
fruits Of various colors. When
the fruits are undiSturbed by
squirrels they do provide color
in the early fall. Few coton-
casters hold their fruits into
the winter.
The hollies contribute much
to fall and winter colorS, espe-
cially the American Ilex opaca)
the English Il. aquifolium) and
the Chinese holly Il. cornuta).
The winterberry, a deciduous
holly native to this area, also
produces a wealth of fruits, but
it seems to require moist shade
to thrive. Most of the other
hollies available to the Wash
ington area are black or blue
fruited. The American and Eng
lish hollies are moderate-Sized
trees. but are so slow growing
that we fail to take their ulti-
mate height into consideration.
The Chinese holly can be ex-
pected to reach 10 or IL feet in
this area. However, all can be
kept at moderate heights
through pruning.
The Snowberry is often men
toned for it's fruit and should
not be overlooked, although the
foliage and the habit of growth
are not as attractive as might
be desired. The same may be
said of the coralberry, which has
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