Perhaps it’s the winter season we’re in right now, or perhaps we’re just hungry, but regardless, we have berries on the mind. This episode highlights some plants that provide us with unexpected (but very appreciated) fruit. It could be a perennial that is grown for its foliage but puts on a late fall show with its berry set. Or it could be a shrub that is known for its berries—just not in a certain bubblegum color. We’ll give credit where credit is due for this topic: Andy Brand, who is our expert for this episode, pitched the idea of plants that have a secret talent of producing amazing berry displays. Did we surprise you with some of these plants? Our guess is yes. Spoiler alert: there is no such thing as a crunch berry tree, despite what Cap’n Crunch says.

Expert testimony: Andy Brand is the interim director of horticulture at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay.

Danielle’s Plants

White baneberry (Actaea pachypoda, Zones 3–8)

Leatherleaf viburnum (Viburnum rhytidophyllum, Zones 5–8)

Common snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus, Zones 3-7)

‘Welch’s Pink’ American beautyberry (Callicarpa americana ‘Welch’s Pink’, Zones 6–9)

Carol’s Plants

False Solomon’s seal (Maianthemum racemosum, Zones 3–8)

All That Glitters^® arrowwood viburnum (Viburnum dentatum var. deamii ‘SMVDLS’, Zones 4–8)

‘Sun King’ aralia (Aralia cordata ‘Sun King’, Zones 3–9)

Pink Icing^® blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum ‘ZF06-079’, Zones 5–10)

Expert testimony: Andy Brand is the interim director of horticulture at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay.

Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens, Zones 3–9)

‘Early Amethyst’ beautyberry (Callicarpa dichotoma ‘Early Amethyst’, Zones 5–8)

Fringetree (Chionanthus virginicus, Zones 3–9)