BOTANICAL: Abies balsamea nana

PRONOUNCED: A-bees bal-SAM-ee-uh NAN-uh

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COMMON: Balsam fir, Blister fir, Bracted balsam fir, Canada balsam, Canadian balsam, Eastern fir.

BERRIES	LIGHT	ZONE
Cones	Full sun to part shade	3 - 5

SIZE: 1 ft. - 2 ft. x 3 ft. - 4 ft.

TYPE: Evergreen shrub

PRUNING: Rarely necessary

USE: At the rear of the shrub border or to provide architectural features around the property.

SOIL: Well drained, moist, acid soil.

COMMENTS: Balsam fir is the only native species in North America in eastern and central Canada and the northeastern United States. The dwarf variety, 'Nana', has short, roundish, gray-green leaves and purple cones, approximately 2- to 3-inches long. A slow grower with a mounded habit.

BOTANICAL: Arctostaphylos uva-ursi

PRONOUNCED: ark-toh-STAF-ih-los OO-va UR-see

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COMMON: Bearberry, Kinnikinick.

BLOOM	BERRIES	LIGHT	ZONE
White or pink	Red	Full sun	2 - 8

SIZE: Prostrate x 2 ft.

TYPE: Evergreen groundcover

PRUNING: Rarely needed. Blooms on old growth.

USE: An outstanding ground cover. It is especially lovely cascading over a low rock wall. Excellent for erosion control.

SOIL: Happiest in infertile, sandy soil

COMMENTS: Do not fertilize. The 1 ft. - 2 ft. semi-upright branches form thick, trailing masses. Its lustrous, bright green leaves turn handsome red to bronze in winter. In early summer before the leaves appear, waxy flowers bloom in drooping clusters at the ends of the branches of the previous year. The berries ripen in the fall. A very fine-textured ground cover. 'Vancouver Jade' has bronze leaves and pink flowers.

BOTANICAL: Aucuba japonica

 PRONOUNCED: AWK-yoo-bah juh-PON-ih-kuh

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COMMON: Japanese aucuba, Japanese laurel.

BLOOMS	LIGHT	ZONE
Purple	Light to medium shade	6 - 10

SIZE: 6 ft. - 10 ft. x 5 ft. - 8 ft.

TYPE: Evergreen shrub

PRUNING: Seldom necessary and should be avoided as fruit and flowering will be effected. If growth restriction is desired, cut old shoots back hard in the spring.

USE: In the shrubbery, or as a backdrop in a large perennial bed. Not suitable as a foundation or specimen plant because of its size.

SOIL: Demands a well-drained, moist, average soil. Will tolerate a clay soil.

COMMENTS: Borderline hardy Zone 6 or colder - a broadleaf shrub evergreen in Zones 7 - 10. It is densely upright-rounded to rounded, forming a thicket of arching branches, tidy and neat in appearance. The leaves are a lustrous dark green above and lighter below, and the flowers are purple, male in upright terminal clusters. Female flowers are axillary. Dioecious (both male and female plants required for fruit production). Differences in cultivars include smaller leaf size, elongated leaves, and variegated foliage: A. japonica 'Salicifolia' (a.k.a. 'Longiflora'), narrow willowlike, serrated leaves, female. Not variegated. A. japonica 'Nana', a compact form to about 3 ft., relatively erect, with abundant fruit on female plants. Not variegated. A. japonica crotonifoloa, 'Spotted Laurel,' a lovely variegated form, is a female plant with bright yellow splashed leathery leaves. A. japonica 'Variegata' is a great choice for even the shadiest of landscapes because it is extremely shade tolerant. It is slow growing and sometimes can revert back to A. japonica, 'Gold dust aucuba', is both a male and female plant.

BOTANICAL: Berberis darwinii

PRONOUNCED: BEAR-ber-is dar-WIN-ee-eye

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COMMON: Barberry

BLOOMS	LIGHT	ZONE
Yellow	Full sun to part shade	7 - 9

SIZE: 5 ft.- 10 ft.

TYPE: Evergreen shrub

PRUNING: Prune immediately after flowering to maintain the desired height.

USE: As a specimen, cascading down embankments or in a large shrub bed. Is also useful as a screen as it suckers freely, forming thickets.

SOIL: Prefers moist, well-drained soil, but is very urban tolerant and adaptable to poor soils

COMMENTS: A fast-growing, popular Berberis. Small glossy green leaves on the upper surface, silvery underneath and looking like a miniature holly leaf. Vibrant orange-yellow flowers appear in the spring, covering the bush, often with a second if smaller showing in the autumn along with bluish-purple berries. Some of the older leaves fall in the fall when they turn a beautiful red color. Deciduous berberis need sun to bring out their fall colors, while evergreen berberis can be located in the shade. A selection of evergreen berberis: Berberis aquifolium, 'Oregon grape', 3 ft. - 5 ft. x greater spread. Lovely yellow flowers in late spring are followed by blue-black berries. The leaves resemble those of the holly. Hardy in Zone: 5 - 8. Berberis linearifolia, 10 ft. x 8 ft. The globose to cup-shaped flowers are yellow to deep orange. It has an untidy appearance. The green foliage turns deep shades of orange and red in the fall. Hardy in Zone: 6 - 9. Berberis trifoliolata (syn: Mahonia trifoliolata), 'Wild currant', 8 ft x 6 ft., is loose, upright and stiffly branched. The 3-lobed blue-gray leaves resemble holly leaves. The yellow flowers in spring are followed by red berries in summer. Zones 7 - 9.

BOTANICAL: Ilex crenata

PRONOUNCED: EYE-lecks kre-NAH-tuh

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COMMON: Boxed leaved holly, Japanese holly.

BLOOMS	BERRIES	LIGHT	ZONE
Insignificant	Black	Full sun to part shade	6 - 10

SIZE: 5 ft.-12 ft

TYPE: Evergreen shrub

PRUNING: Mostly unnecessary other than to maintain tidiness, or to shape into a hedge, in which case prune early spring or late winter.

USE: Makes an excellent dense hedge, background shrub or foundation planting, but do not plant too close to a concrete basement foundation.

SOIL: Insists on a slightly acid soil, so don't plant near concrete where soil may contain other alkaline construction debris.

COMMENTS: Needs a sheltered position from winter winds. May not withstand an unusually long, winter deep freeze. It can be Ilex Crenata 'convexsa' can be trained as a small tree or container shrub. How to pollinate hollies.