Houseplants
Houseplants with Red Berries for Winter Cheer
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Jan 10, 2007 - 3:59:33 PM

Once of the best red-berried plants for the winter months is the Ardisia crenulata, also known as the coral berry or spice berry.  It is easy to grown from seed, but the seedlings develop slowly.  Seeds sown in March or April will bloom the following spring and produce berries the next winter.  The plant grows in this time only about a foot tall.  The leaves of the coral berry are dark glossy green, and the foliage itself is worth growing the plant. 

Skimmia japonica (Japanese Skimmia) is a broad-leaf evergreen which is not hardy north of Washington D.C.  Although it’s a rather slow grower, this is one of the most attractive red-berried houseplants available.  Plant the seeds in the fall and store the seedlings in a cool place.  Then, plant them in the garden for transplanting into pots in October.  These potted plants should produce berries that winter.  The berries are bright scarlet or coral red, slightly angled, and about one-quarter of an inch across.  You can also buy a plant from your local nursery if you don’t want to grow the plant from seed.

With the best care and cultivation these unique red-berried plants will probably never exceed three feet when grown in pots.  One drawback is that only one kind of flower is produced so that if you want berries you’ll need to make sure that the plant has both staminate and pistillate flowers. 

In addition to the winter decorative qualities of this plant, it is beautiful in the spring when the flowers appear.  It has many small, yellowish white flowers one quarter of an inch across, which are borne in the axils of the leaves in clusters two inches in diameter.

Another broad-leaf evergreen which can be successfully grown in a cool room is Aucuba Japonica, commonly called the Aucuba.  It is hardy in the Southern U.S.  It is a shrub four to fifteen feet high, with beautiful dark green leaves.  Like the skimmia, the flowers are not perfect, so if fruit is desired you must take care to grow both sexes.  When in flower shake the staminate ones over the pistillate ones so that they’ll fertilize.  To carry this plant over winter keep it in a deep cold-frame or cool room which does not freeze and keep the soil somewhat dry.

The cheapest red-berried plant for the winter months is the Jerusalem cherry (Solanum Pseudo-Capsicum), which is symmetrical, full of red berries, and may easily be grown up to a foot in diameter.  The berries last for three months but soon drop off as the temperatures increase. 

Plant the seeds in February, and as the plants fill their pots with roots, shift to a larger pot.  During the summer, place them in a partially shady place outdoors, and give them plenty of water.  Pinch the plant back and turn frequently to keep the plant symmetrical. 

When you take the plant indoors in the fall, see that it gets plenty of water.  Be careful about watering while the fruit is setting.  To carry the plant over from one year to the next, cut back the old plants in the spring, and give the same treatment as they had the previous summer.