Pyracanthas
I have certainly been missing the colorful foliage that the sumacs provided us for several weeks. I drove around town and tried to find something else colorful. No luck. Then I came home, and lo and behold, my own yard offered one plant with color, right outside my front door! It is a pyracantha.
Pyracanthas, also known as Firethorns, are not native to this area. They do, however, perform very well here. They are easy to grow in sun or partial shade. They need some water in drought times and it helps to mulch the roots in the spring. Pyracanthas are a valuable shrub that makes a useful barrier because of its thorns. Its flowers are small, white, fragrant blossoms. The leaves, also lovely, can be pruned or left unsheared.
The highlight of pyracantha, however, is its fruit. Highly ornamental clusters of berries, red, orange or yellow, abound in the fall season and remain on the plant, usually through the winter and sometimes into early spring. The berries make lovely, colorful decorations for the seasons.
However, there is an additional plus or minus, or both, depending on your needs or wants for the use of these berries at this time. Birds, especially cedar waxwings, can descend on these shrubs and wipe them out with one visit. The reward, however, is that you might see these lovely birds up close and personal, as we say. One friend, and I, too, have had that memorable experience. The waxwings, a beautiful bird in itself, are apparently feasting in preparation for their oncoming migration.
The ripened fruit (seeds) can be stratified at once or stored for up to one year in a cool dry place before stratifying. Either semihard cuttings in summer or firm-shoot cuttings in late summer can create new plants. I have never either planted seeds or cuttings, but, perhaps, after realizing the true gifts of color, ease of growing, and attraction to cedar waxwings, I think I will look around my yard and see where else I might want to show off this useful and beautiful plant that is so colorful when we need that color to help carry us through what otherwise might be a dreary time for nature in our landscape.
Written by Martha Knies