10 Native Plants to Grow for Winter Interest

Growing plants with colorful bark and bright berries is an easy way to make your garden more attractive in winter. But while some gardeners grow non-native sedums and hydrangeas for winter interest, Maine has lots of native plants that stay colorful in winter and are especially well-suited to our cold New England weather. From perennials to low-growing bushes and trees, here are more than a few Maine natives that you can use to liven up your winter garden and attract wildlife!

Winterberry (Ilex verticillata)

Winterberry belongs to the holly family, but this deciduous shrub loses its leaves in fall. Birds flock to bright red winterberries when other food sources are scarce in winter. In summer, butterflies use these plants as hosts for their caterpillars, and bees adore their flowers. Like English holly, you’ll need a male and a female plant to produce berries, and new plantings of winterberry should be watered well to help them settle in!

Staghorn Sumac (Rhus hirta)

Staghorn sumac is a favorite among foragers, and its fuzzy berries are often harvested in summer to use in a tangy lemonade-like drink. But if you leave staghorn sumac berries in place, these plants will bring warm color to barren winter gardens and attract birds too. Sumac plants spread relatively quickly, but you can keep them in check by mowing down young shoots that extend beyond the area where you want sumac to grow.

Goldenrod (Solidago spp.)

Although the showstopping yellow of goldenrod blooms fades long before winter, dried goldenrod flowers usually stay in place until spring. Those dried blooms look particularly pretty when snow falls and dusts them with a delicate whiteness, but they also attract seed-eating birds and are great for dried flower arrangements. Impressively adaptable and easy to maintain, there are lots of native goldenrod species to choose from, including the uniquely colored silverrod!

Red Osier Dogwood (Swida sericea)

Most winter interest plants boast dried flower heads or colorful berries. But red osier dogwood delights with its bright red stems, which are especially prominent when this deciduous shrub drops its leaves in fall. Mature plants grow between 3 and 9 feet tall, and their summer-blooming flowers are magnets for bees, butterflies, and other pollinators. Pruning some of the stems to the ground early spring will insure vibrant red color of the first-year stems the following winter.

Highbush Cranberry (Viburnum opulus)

Despite its name, highbush cranberry isn’t actually related to cranberries, but its tart red berries are perfectly edible! Among its many charms, highbush cranberry produces white clusters of flowers in spring, and its leaves shift into an intriguing purplish shade in autumn. These plants also adapt well to most soil types, although they prefer well-drained to moist soils in full sun to part shade.

Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens)

Another edible berry, wintergreen is traditionally used to make teaberry ice cream, but it can also be grown as a colorful ground-covering plant in winter gardens. Remaining evergreen through the winter months, wintergreen is naturally found in hardwood forests, and it tolerates shade and acidic soils well. Interestingly, wintergreen is closely related to blueberries and you can see the family resemblance when winterberry produces its white, bell-shaped flowers in mid-summer!

Witch Hazel (Hamamelis virginiana)

Few plants bloom in winter, but witch hazel’s unique yellow flowers are at their peak from October to December! Because these plants flower when few other plants are in bloom, witch hazel is incredibly useful for pollinators, and it’s visited by a wide variety of late season insects, including moths. Full grown witch hazel plants max out at around 10 to 20 feet tall and they grow well in moist soil and sun or shade.

Chokeberry (Aronia spp.)

Maine has a few types of native chokeberries, including red chokeberry and black chokeberry, which can be easily distinguished by the color of their berries. Black chokeberries tend to stay on the plants longer in winter than red chokeberries, but both plants provide winter interest after their vibrant display of fall foliage and are good for attracting birds. During the growing season, chokeberries support a wide variety of Lepidoptera, such as cecropia moths and swallowtail butterflies, and their fast growth rate makes them useful for garden privacy.

Northern Bayberry (Morella caroliniensis)

Bayberry’s blueish-white berries persist through winter, and their waxy coating has traditionally been used to make bayberry candles. But bayberry plants also serve as host plants for over 70 species of Lepidoptera, including some types of sphinx moths and the much-beloved luna moth! A fine choice for coastal gardens and flower beds near roadways, bayberry plants tolerate salt well and they’re relatively pest- and drought-resistant.

American Mountain Ash (Sorbus americana)

Also known as rowan, American mountain ash belongs to the Rose family and its vivid, red berries bear some resemblance to rose hips. If birds don’t gobble up all of the berries in fall, rowan plants can keep gardens colorful through winter and their flowers should attract pollinators in summer as well. Traditionally used as a medicinal, rowan berries can also be cooked into jellies or planted in spring to make new rowan plants!

Stop by the Native Gardens of Blue Hill later this season to see some of these Maine natives in all their winter glory!