edited by alison--lynn chiffed Hoein' & growin' Add a few of these trees, shrubs

to your wintertime wish list

Winter is definitely here. The blast of frigid air that roared through Sunday night brought our mild fall to an abrupt close. Now our landscape plants can only hunker down and wait for spring.

But just because they are leafless doesn't mean they have to be dull.

Look for interesting tree forms, branching patterns, peeling bark, berries, twig color or anything else that makes woody plants stand out this time of year and start a wish list of your favorites.

Trees that have an interesting form or branching pattern can make a dramatic statement against the winter sky. It can be a bold statement like the American sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua), with a coarse texture and projections on its branches called corky wings. The ginkgo tree (Ginkgo biloba) starts out rather gaunt and gangly, but, if we are patient, develops into one of the most spectacular of trees.

American hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana), also called musclewood, ironwood and blue beech, is a native understory tree that only reaches 30 feet. The bark develops a slate gray, smooth, fluted appearance that makes it look like flexed muscle. Often mistaken for beech, this tree deserves more use in the home landscape, especially in a naturalized setting.

Corkscrew willow (Salix matsudana "Tortuosa") brings an interesting architecture to the winter landscape with its gnarled and contorted gray-brown branches. Rather weak-wooded, this tree benefits from judicious pruning when young to create good structure by removing crowded branches and included bark.

Most Japanese maples (Acer palmatum) are grown for their leaf color or shape, but many have weeping or contorted branching. Paperbark maple (A. griseum) is a small (25 foot) tree with outstanding orange-brown to cinnamon-brown exfoliating bark that creates year-round interest.

Lacebark elm (Ulmus parvifolia) is a graceful round-headed tree whose bark is a mottled combination of gray, green, orange and brown that gets better with age.

The Franklin tree (Franklinia alatamaha) is a small native (25 foot) that's beautiful all year and in winter displays its ridged gray bark with prominent white striations. Another native tree, the Carolina silverbell (Halesia caroliniana) has showy white lines on young stems and the bark develops a stringy peeling habit with maturity.

Weeping trees make beautiful winter specimens. They include weeping katsuratree (Cercidiphyllum japonicum "Pendula") and weeping beech (F. sylvatica "Pendula"), also available in a purple-leafed form aptly named "Purple Fountain." Don't forget flowering cherries like the weeping Higan (Prunus subhirtella "Pendula") and weeping Yoshino cherry (P. x yedoensis "Pendula").

There are many shrubs that add winter interest to the landscape. Climbing hydrangea (Hydrangea anomala) is a vigorous woody vine with beautiful exfoliating bark and an interesting shape. Another vine, Sweetautumn clematis (Clematis terniflora), blooms in late summer and has flower parts that persist through winter.

Kerria (Kerria japonica) is a little-used shrub that maintains its green twigs all winter, adding a little color to the landscape. Winter jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum) is a shrub many people mistake for forsythia (Forsythia x intermedia) in the late-winter landscape. From a distance, its yellow flowers are very similar. Bright green twigs and low, trailing growth habit are its greatest assets.

The native witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) blooms in the fall in the woods of the New River Valley. I have always loved the understated beauty of its spidery, pale yellow flowers. This plant has been hybridized and many cultivars are available, adding to its appeal.

The vernal witch hazel (H. vernalis) has many cultivars, as does H. x intermedia, a cross between the Chinese and Japanese varieties. These plants bloom in late January through March and display clear yellow to copper colored flowers. This plant is very effective in a naturalized setting with native redbuds (Cercis canadensis) and flowering dogwood (Cornus florida).

There are a large number of shrubs with berries that persist into the winter. The ones that come to mind quickly are the hollies. While not all hollies have berries, the blue hollies or Meserve hybrids (I. X meserveae) berry up nicely and are very popular. Chinese holly (I. cornuta) needs protection in the NRV and includes the popular cultivar "Dwarf Burford." Tree forms of holly include the cultivars Foster holly (I. X attenuata "Fosteri") and "Nellie R. Stevens."

There is even a deciduous holly (I. verticillata) called winterberry for its bright red fruit that persist as long as the birds will allow. It is quite striking in the winter landscape.

Check with your local nursery for availability of these plants and make sure to leave your list where Santa will find it. Merry Christmas!

Jim May is a certified arborist and earned a master's degree in horticulture from Virginia Tech.