You may not realize it, but there's a plethora of birth month plants we each have a special connection to, and the latest addition is birth month berries.
Just like birth month flowers and birth month trees, there's a berry for every month of the year. Though it should be noted, this list is not definitive, nor does it stem from cultural traditions as some other types of birth month plants do. Rather, our expertly collated list comprises of seasonal berries to represent each month of the year.
They make wonderful additions to the garden, providing a colorful display to celebrate your birthday every year. You could even gift these shrubs to the keen gardener in your life to guarantee a bit of joy every time their birthday comes around.
12 Beautiful Birth Month Berries
From shrubs with fall berries to shrubs with winter berries, and edible summer berries, you may be surprised to learn there's a berry fruiting shrub for every month of the year. Just like birth month flower seeds, their seasonality makes them excellent birth month berries.
In the midst of winter, snowberry (Symphoricarpos) showcases the most charming clusters of white berries, sitting on bare brown branches. It's one of the few shrubs to have visible berries at this time of year, with some varieties even having a pink blush. This is not an edible berry, but one that can make for stunning stem cuttings for indoor arrangements. You need to get pruning timing right to make the most of snowberry clusters, only pruning in early spring as to not remove the berries too soon. They produce berries on new wood, so focus on removing the oldest and heaviest stems when pruning, using these Fiskars bypass pruning shears from Amazon.
Not only does winterberry (Ilex verticillata) stay true to its name with bright red berries in the winter season, it also provides year-round interest. Spring brings dainty white flowers and new green leaves, in summer green berries begin to develop, fall is when the berries start to turn red and foliage turns golden, and the berries are at their brightest in winter. When planting your winterberry shrub, choose a position that provides at least six hours of direct sun a day and consider pruning any branches blocking sunlight to those lower down. Note: this is not an edible berry.
While many winter berries are starting to fade come March, firethorn (Pyracantha) is one of the few still going. Vivid orange and red berries adorn branches of lance-shaped evergreen foliage. As they linger into spring, abundant clusters of white flowers start to emerge, which almost cover branches entirely when at their peak. This is not an edible berry raw, but historically it has been used for cooking into jelly and jam. However, it should be noted this requires careful processing of the berries to avoid illness. Pruning is key, removing crossing and crowded branches in late winter to improve airflow and prevent issues like fire blight.
One of the most unusual fruits to grow is salmonberry, or Rubus spectabilis. This gorgeous shrub has large magenta flowers in April, welcoming pollinators like bees, butterflies, and even hummingbirds. Shortly after pollinating, small green fruits start to develop. You may mistake them for raspberries by their shape because they are related, but as they ripen in later spring, they have a unique orange hue that turns a deep red in summer. This is an edible berry, often used for jams and syrups, enjoyed for its tart flavor. To care for this bramble, position it somewhere with dappled sunlight and keep its soil consistently moist. It makes an excellent woodland plant.
In May, one of the lesser known berries is starting to make an apperance: honeyberry (Lonicera caerulea). This blue berry is elongated and tubular, though in May it is just starting to develop, appearing green among small tubular white and pale blue flowers. The blooms are particularly fragrant (with a honey-like smell that earns it its name) and attract a wide range of pollinators and beneficial insects. Honeyberry is often planted as hedgerow or in small fruit patches. When the berries are ripe (around June), they can be harvested and be eaten raw as an edible berry, with a similar taste to blueberries. These shrubs require two different varieties for cross-pollination to occur, as they are not self-fertile.
There's no better option among birth month berries for June than the summer staple of strawberries. These edible berries are common in kitchen gardens because they have a delicious sweet taste and they're relatively easy to grow. In June, the first of strawberry batches are ready to harvest, made more convenient with a gorgeous harvest basket (from Amazon). Watch out for common strawberry problems for the best harvest and consider growing strawberry companion plants nearby to protect them from common pests, including the pest-repelling marigold plant (from Walmart).
Raspberry is the birth month berry for July, as these tart, sweet edible berries make a summer staple for many. You can start harvesting raspberries in the summer months, when their fruit has tuned a gorgeous pink-red hue. This is also one of the best berries to forage as they're often found among wild brambles. Of course, you should only eat a raspberry if you are 100% sure it is one, so you don't accidentally eat something toxic that could make you ill. To get your raspberry plant to fruit, ensure you provide plenty of direct sunlight.
Another edible berry favorite, blueberries are the August birth month berry because this is prime blueberry harvesting time. Although, when you pick them really depends on the specific type of blueberry you're growing. 'Bluecrop', 'Jersey', and 'Chandler' are popular varieties that all tend to be ready by August, while 'Aurora' is often harvested in September. To get your blueberry bush to fruit, plant pollinator-friendly plants nearby to encourage pollination. You should also take steps to protect blueberry bushes in winter (like with this frost cover from Walmart) to ensure a bumper harvest next year.
One of the earliest fall berries to make an appearance is elderberry (Sambucus), a striking shrub with black berries. Elderberry's foliage is also starting to turn in September, as it becomes golden and bronze before falling off later in the season. You can also get unique dark foliage elderberries, like European black elderberry which has dark purple and black foliage. The good news is elderberry is a shrub that thrives on neglect and it can grow well in poor soil and periods of dry spells. Elderberries are edible berries (as are the flowers) but it's important to only consume them when cooked. Other parts of the shrub can be toxic.
On our list of birth month berries, cranberry is the chosen variety for October. After long summer days, cranberry shrubs begin ripening their fruit, ready for picking in fall. As the berries reach their full sugar content, they become a bright red color, signally they're ready for picking and consuming as edible berries. You can often continue harvesting cranberries into November, as these shrubs provide abundant harvests. When planting cranberries, keep in mind these shrubs prefer an acidic soil that remains consistently moist.
While many plants start to fade come November, beautyberry (Callicarpa) shines with staggering purple berries on bare branches. Their unique color may lead you to thinking they're toxic, but beautyberry is actually an edible berry used for making jams. Raw, these berries are described as being very bitter and unpleasant. They're valuable for wildlife gardens at this time of year, too, as many birds will feed on beautyberries. One of the most important care tasks for this shrub is pruning beautyberry correctly. You should wait to prune in late winter or early spring, removing old stems to encourage new growth for abundant berries in fall.
Holly is the perfect fit for a December birth month berry because it also happens to be the birth month 'flower' for December. Synonymous with Christmas, holly bushes are adorned with small clusters of red berries, nestled between their iconic spikey foliage. They make classic additions to decorating with foliage for Christmas, and also provide a vital resource for feeding birds in winter. For humans, however, this is not an edible berry, as it contains toxins. If your holly doesn't have berries, it might be that it needs a companion for cross-pollination, as these plants are dioecious. It might also be that you made a pruning mistake and cut off the flowers before they had a chance to set fruit. To avoid this, prune your holly in late winter when fruiting has finished and flowering is yet to begin.
FAQs
How Can I Incorporate My Birth Month Berry Indoors?
You can incorporate your birth month berry indoors by taking cuttings from the shrub and displaying them in foliage arrangements. Or, if your birth month berry is edible, you can bring it into the kitchen to create a jam or jelly to enjoy. Other ways to bring your birth month berry indoors include using a berry-scented diffuser, like this raspberry and vanilla reed diffuser from Amazon.
Other than birth month berries, there are plenty of other edible hedge plants you can grow in the yard, as well as trees with red berries. Why not try adding your favorites into a foodscaping design?
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