help need propagating...

[savageactor7]

...this bush that grows in our woods.

There's only one like it...the red berries stay that way through the winter. Stays at 4' with no trimming. There's too many stalks to attempt a transplant. My Mom use to do this with cuttings in a glass of water but as I overheard her explain to my sister one day...only special cuttings will work. Anyone know about this 'special' cuttings and what kind of bush this is? thanks

^looks kind of ugly here but the pic doesn't do it justice. I like to do something about this over the winter indoors if I could.

btw I have other red berry trees like this but they're all gangly and get to 10-15'...this is a freak of nature that's why I want it.

 

[fbelec]

looks like the stuff you find when you look at a bowl of fake flowers.
i think you cut the stem up the middle about 3 inches and stick it in the water where it starts to grow roots. but i'm not sure about that. it's been 35 to 40 years since i did that.
something i wish i could remember. my grandfather once combined two cuttings and made a tree that grow plums and peaches on the same tree.

 

[savageactor7]

looks like the stuff you find when you look at a bowl of fake flowers.

Yup, I've noticed over the years that cars will stop and take a few cuttings...probably for ornamentation. This bush has such a brilliant glow to it that your attention is drawn to it while driving down the road at 55mph... pictures don't do it justice.

 

[billb3]

Try rootone and potting soil ?

I can't remember if you want an inch or two of last year's woody brown growth or if you DON"T want last year's woody growth when rooting in plain water.

 

[quads]

It looks like the same thing that grows all over the Necedah Wildlife Refuge, but I've never been able to figure out what it is.

 

[Jay H]

Mountain ash? aka Sorbus:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorbus

I see the trees in the Catskills and surroundings in NY State, but they also grow as a bush/shrub according to the Wiki

Jay

 

[daveswoodhauler]

Sure its not Mountan Laurel? Does it flower in mid spring?

 

[savageactor7]

hummm now that you mention it there are small white flowers ...I can't really recall of it late spring or not. Probably is though.

 

[fbelec]

Mountain ash? aka Sorbus:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorbus

I see the trees in the Catskills and surroundings in NY State, but they also grow as a bush/shrub according to the Wiki

Jay

there is a more uniform leaf pattern in this that is not with his.

 

[pybyr]

Google "highbush cranberry" although like most vernacular names, you'll find that there are several things that go by that name (sometimes which grow near each other)-- I suspect that you have one of them, though I can't remember which ways you tell which of the several sorts apart.

Once you figure out which one it is, by Latin name, you can Google more detail about how to propagate it most successfully.

Some of them are apparently not only edible, but pleasant, and can be used for winemaking. Others are medicinal and taste like it. Or, for all I know, maybe you have something else entirely and it may be toxic, so YMMV.

My Enquiring Mind will be interested to know what yours turns out to be.

 

[SolarAndWood]

We have highbush cranberry. The fruit grows in clusters, not like what is pictured which my wife lovingly calls bird berries. In some parts of the woods with thick canopy and competition, it might stay small. But, give it a little room and sun and it goes 6 to 8 ft tall. My experience is that the wine and jelly from highbush cranberry is very pleasant. Seems to be best picked after the first frost even though it smells a bit musty.

 

[savageactor7]

Thanks to everyone for their comments and advice.

 

[Cazimere]

It is Ilex verticillata, Winterberry holly.
Very difficult to propagate but i've had success transplanting some on my own property : )

(broken link removed to http://agriculture.tennessee.edu/news/PlantofMonth/0401POM.htm)

 

[fbelec]

It is Ilex verticillata, Winterberry holly.
Very difficult to propagate but i've had success transplanting some on my own property : )

(broken link removed to http://agriculture.tennessee.edu/news/PlantofMonth/0401POM.htm)

doesn't holly have sharp points on their leaves?

 

[SE Iowa]

The leaves and fruit look like a chokecherry bush/tree all except the color of the berries. Chokecherries turn a dark purple in late fall and winter. I wonder if it is some sort of variation on chokecherry. Is this in the wild or in suburbia?

 

[Cazimere]

I repeat It is Ilex verticillata, Winterberry holly.

Not all hollys have pointy leaves.

 

[kenny chaos]

It's ginseng.

 

[Dune]

There are between 200 and 400 species of holly, depending upon who you listen to. I recognized it as holly imediately. Go to a good nursery and ask for a rooting hormone thaat will work with holly. Otherwise, save some berries and plant the seeds. It will not even take much longer to grow from seed than from cuttings.

 

[savageactor7]

I Googled Ilex verticillata and am thinking that could be it. btw the leafs are neither glossy or pointed. Now the reason I like this bush is it's compact size. I've been eyeballing this now for a number of years and it has stayed at 48" that's important to me.

Now I have to find out how to make more from this same bush...I absolutely don't want to dig it up though. Suppose I could try planting some of those berries indoors this winter...can that be done?

Thanks to all for your input so far.

 

[fossil]

Some plants will respond well to "air layering", others to "ground layering". I'm talking about plants that typically don't do well with taking slips and replanting them, mostly woody plants. Dunno about your plant, but there are a lot of things to try. A whole world to explore! My Grandfather grafted fruit trees, so he had 2 or 3 different kinds of apples growing on a single tree. He did the same with plums. Good luck with it...I'm sure there's a way to do it. Rick

 

[Bobbin]

Ilex verticillata is a great plant. It tends to grow in suckering clumps and will do very well in low, wet, mucky sites. It must have acid soil. You will find it growing very contentedly alongside Vaccinium corumbosum, too (this is the native highbush blueberry). On our property both prosper and provide great 3 season interest, screening, and native habitat and food for birds. Vaccinium provides striking fall color, as well; deep scarlet in handsome contrast to the grey bark. Both plants are tough as nails. Ilex verticillata thrives in the brackish area of a local salt marsh.

The native species can get quite tall (8-10') and tends to get sort of scraggley as it gets taller. Pruning sharply in the early spring will rejuvenate plants and force denser growth from below. The sexes of most hollies are borne on separate plants so you have to have a male and female plant to get berries. Berries are borne only on female plants. You can purchase several excellent cultivars at local nurseries that are bred to remain more compact as they mature and will be readily pollinated by native plants; best of all, the sexes are clearly marked so you can guarantee you're getting a female plant. I don't know about availability of bareroot stock, but it wouldn't surprise me if it was available as this is a very, very tough shrub and would likely survive most everything up to nuclear war and still survive.

 

[savageactor7]

You can purchase several excellent cultivars at local nurseries that are bred to remain more compact ...you know that's not a bad idea at all. Get something with a proven history. Mostly what I'm looking for is a 4' bush that will rise above the snow to display their red berries all winter. Thanks Bobbin that's just what I'm going to do. DOH! why couldn't I see the obvious?

Right now the only ornamentals we have is a few well placed stag horn sumac's and we really like the look of their red berry cones when snow is on the ground.

 

[Bobbin]

There are varieties that will provide yellow berries, too. I don't know their names off hand, nor do I know if they'll cross pollinate with native species and still reliably deliver the desired yellow fruit.

The husband works for a nursery and we're "into" landscaping with woody ornamentals and "bullet-proof" perennials. We have worked hard to maintain and foster native species as the "backbone" of our landscaping endeavors. If you haven't tried them, please look at Vaccinium corumbosum, too. It's probably my favorite native "shrub" and if your soil is acid it will likely prove a tough, handsome addition to the landscape... also delicious fruit (if you beat the birds to it). We use it as a "pick and gobble" crop, leaving the majority of the fruit for the birds.

 

[szmaine]

You can purchase several excellent cultivars at local nurseries that are bred to remain more compact ...you know that's not a bad idea at all. Get something with a proven history. Mostly what I'm looking for is a 4' bush that will rise above the snow to display their red berries all winter. Thanks Bobbin that's just what I'm going to do. DOH! why couldn't I see the obvious?

Right now the only ornamentals we have is a few well placed stag horn sumac's and we really like the look of their red berry cones when snow is on the ground.

Check out Fedco Trees, good prices on on bareroot trees and shubs- bareroot plant are light so shipping is inexpensive.
Good cultivars of Ilex (you'll need a male plant nearby as well.)

http://www.fedcoseeds.com/trees.htm

Aronia arbutifolia ‘Brilliantissima’ Red Chokeberry is also a very nice native with long lasting red berries and gorgeous fall foliage, I have two.

 

[gpcollen1]

I repeat It is Ilex verticillata, Winterberry holly.

Not all hollys have pointy leaves.

And a very common plant in NY...