With Christmas just around the corner, many of us are taking the opportunity to dress up the house with an array of decorations.

Interestingly, many plants have become symbolic with Christmas, none so much as the Christmas tree, which is generally in the form of the Norway spruce (Picea abies) – though I bet you did not know that there are over 100 varieties and forms of the Norway Spruce.

Although the Norway spruce makes a superb traditional Christmas tree, do be aware that its needle retention is considered poor unless the trees are cut fresh and kept properly watered.

However, Christmas would not be Christmas without the berries, and many tend to be from evergreen plants such as the hollies (Ilex aquifolium) and mistletoe (Viscum album).

Interestingly, the mistletoe is an ‘hemiparasitic’ plant, which means it lives off the resources of another plant – when the mistletoe seeds, normally distributed by birds attach themselves and penetrates the branches absorbing water and nutrient from the host plant.

Although mistletoe can be found commonly growing on apple trees, it can grow on a wide range of trees and shrubs.

Did you know that Mistletoe is also associated with fertility and vitality. A and is a Christmas decoration which tradition dictates that a male was allowed to kiss any female standing underneath mistletoe and bad luck would befall any woman who refused the kiss – Clearly a tradition or an opportunity populated by the male of our species!

There are many other plants that produce berries that help to make Christmas merry!

One of the best plants for berries, especially around Christmas, is the Cotoneaster. I recently talked about my Cotoneaster X watereri ‘Cornubia’ and how it has produced loads of bright red berries which I think look very Christmassy.

This particularly variety of Cotoneaster is commonly known as the “tree” Cotoneaster as it makes quite a tall shrub that resembles a small tree.

Though be aware that there are over 300 species of Cotoneaster of which the majority are shrubs, some are deciduous, though many are evergreen.

They come in all shapes and sizes from ground hugging such as Cotoneaster Dammeri and Cotoneaster horizontalis, or more upright and arching such as Cotoneaster franchetii and Cotoneaster divaricatus.

I also believe that Cotoneasters produce berries that are much better than the traditional holly trees. Although most Cotoneasters produce red berries, there are a few exceptions such as Cotoneaster Exburiensis and Cotoneaster Rothschildianus of which the berries are yellow.

There are also some variegated leaved forms of Cotoneaster such as Cotoneaster atropurpureus ‘Variegatus’ and Cotoneaster horizontalis ‘Variegatus’ and gives the plants added interest. So quite a diverse range of Cotoneasters.

Another merry berry plant at this time of the year is the Pyracantha or which is more commonly known as the “Firethorn bush” - it is also in the same family as the Cotoneaster, so maybe no surprise that this plant also berries well.

Unlike the Cotoneaster, Pyracantha are a genus of large “thorny” evergreen shrubs. Though, like the Cotoneaster they can be grown as an individual specimen plant, or against a wall and trained to cover, or can be grown as a hedge!

Also like the Cotoneaster, Pyracantha berries are generally red, though again some varieties can produce either orange (Pyracantha Orange Glow) or yellow berries (Pyracantha Golden Charmer) providing more diverse berry colour. Also, there are some variegated leaved forms of Pyracantha, such as Pyracantha Silver Lining and Pyracantha angustifolia ‘Variegata’.

Both Cotoneasters and Pyracanthus are shrubby plants that are easy to grow and will tolerate most soils as well as a coastal environment.

Both will provide many berries from late autumn into the early spring – however, they are favoured by birds, so do not be too surprised if you find the berries begin to disappear, especially it is a harsh winter! And don’t be too surprised during late spring if you do find seedlings germinating around the base of the plants, though these would be the previous seasons berries/seeds as they need a long period of stratification to help them germinate. When they are big enough to handle then simply lift them and pot them up for growing on.