Snowberry Bush Care and Growing Tips

How to Grow a Snowberry Bush

Snowberry, a native deciduous shrub, is a generally tolerant plant. It is capable of handling a variety of conditions and even harsh winters. It grows in many types of soils, including those that are dry or rocky; it also grows in well-draining clay soils.

Other than when first being established, this shrub doesn’t require supplemental watering; in fact, it won’t grow well if it’s waterlogged. Add it to your perennial borders or plant it in front of evergreens for additional winter interest.

This bush has simple, oblong 2-inch green leaves. Clusters of 1/2-inch pale green berries transform to white by early fall. For the best berry production, plant snowberry in full sun, rather than in part shade.

Note that this plant is, in fact, different from winterberry. While both grow berries that wildlife appreciates, they do not belong to the same botanical family. Winterberry belongs to the holly family, while snowberry belongs to the honeysuckle family.

Common name: Common snowberry, upright snowberry, white snowberry
Botanical name: Symphoricarpos albus
Growing zones: 3 to 7
Size: 3 to 6 feet high and wide
Light needs: Full sun to part shade
Attracts: Birds, bees, and butterflies

Benefits to Birds and Wildlife

White Berries Of Symphoricarpos Albus Known As Common Snowberry On A Bush — Galina Sandalova/Getty Images
White berries provide a food source in winter

Benefits of adding snowberry to your backyard abound. It’s a host plant for the vashti sphinx moth caterpillar, which resides in much of the western United States, as well as the aptly named snowberry clearwing moth.

If you’d like to attract more wildlife to your garden, snowberry is a great choice. Small critters like mice and rabbits snack on the berries. Towhees, thrushes, robins and waxwings also eat the white fruits, but sometimes birds take a pass. This then leaves the berries as winter interest, which helps brighten up the yard when few things are blooming.

Showy, bell-shaped pink flowers attract hummingbirds, butterflies and bees.

READ ON: Top 10 Shrubs and Plants With Red Berries

Sources

North Carolina State Extension, “Symphoricarpos albus“
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, “Symphoricarpos albus“

Author

Emily Hannemann

Emily Hannemann is a digital editor for Birds & Blooms. She holds a master's degree in magazine journalism from the University of Missouri - Columbia, as well as undergraduate degrees in journalism and English. In her spare time, she enjoys researching fun facts about corvids.

Reviewer

Melinda Myers

Melinda Myers is a nationally known, award-winning garden expert, speaker, TV/radio host and author of more than 20 books. She is the instructor for The Great Courses How to Grow Anything DVD and Instant Video series and host of the nationally syndicated Melinda’s Garden Moments TV and Radio segments. With a master’s degree in horticulture and ...

Fact Checker

Kirsten Schrader

Now Birds & Blooms' content director, Kirsten has been writing about birding and gardening for 17 years. Her writing and editing roles have spanned the print and digital landscape. Although she has traveled to see amazing birds throughout the U.S., Kirsten has one dream bucket list bird—the male painted bunting.