| Common Name | Snowberry; coralberry; white coralberry |
| Genus | Symphoricarpos |
| Species | albus |
| Family | Caprifoliaceae |
| Life Cycle | Woody perennial |
| Bundle Size | 10 bare roots per bundle |
| Care | All of these plants will ship to you from Vermont in early April. They will be just coming out of dormancy. You may see swelling buds or a bit of new growth, but in general they will be in a dormant state and may look a little dead. Don't worry! They will wake up. You may see a bit of mold on the roots but this is completely normal. Simply wash it off and plant immediately. As a precaution you can treat the roots with a fungicide or biofungicide, but this isn't necessary. Small broken branches are also of little concern. Just prune off any broken bits and the plant will recover quickly. The root system is the important part at this stage in the game. If you can't plant immediately on arrival store your bare roots in the cooler. The cold will delay their growth. Keep them from freezing. You can either pot them into 1 gallon pots or plant them directly into your prepared soil. Just make sure to plant them within a few days of arrival. They are waking up and are ready to grow, and they will decline quickly if they are not given soil, water and sunshine. This is a carefully orchestrated process to get plants quickly from their storage conditions to you so please do your part and be ready to plant them on arrival. There is no reason that these plants will experience any stress if you prepare for their arrival. |
| Netting / Staking | None |
| Hardiness | Zones 3-8 |
| Spacing | Space 3' apart, mature height 3-4' |
| Soil Preference | Adaptable to a variety of soils. |
| Light | Full sun to part shade. |
| Water | Best grown on moist but well drained soil, but adaptable to drier and wetter conditions. |
| When to Plant | Spring, when the ground is workable. |
| Harvesting | Berries develop later in summer, following flowering. Plan to harvest your first branches approximately three years after planting the bare root shrubs. The initial harvest will be small, but more material can be cut each year as the plants mature. According to Kolster, expect 0 stems year 1, 10 stems year 2 and 20+ stems year 3 and beyond. |
| Post Harvest Care | Post Harvest guide coming soon |
| Diseases / Insects | Anthracnose or scab; aphids; San Jose scale; snowberry clearwig. Expert branch grower Karl Vahrmeyer Jr. of Green Park Nurseries says "prepare for mildew" if you are in a higher humidity location. |
| Bailey's Notes |
Symphoricarpos is a genus native to North America. They hybridize easily which has result in a wide range of colors, forms and fruiting times. I used to expect snowberry to be a winter crop, but it is name for the pure white berries, rather than the time of year it is in fruit. You can plant a range of varieties that will fruit from August through October. We have curated a range of colors that will fruit in three different harvest windows to extend your season. The plants branch from under the ground and form "thickets" of stems. Over time the clumps will become quite large and vigorous. They flower in early summer on new and old growth. |
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