Symphorycarpos chenaultii Hancock

Symphoricarpos x chenaultii 'Hancock' is a variety of Chenault's Symphoricarpos 'Hancock' with a low and spreading habit, highly branched. Its flexible and arching branches easily layer. They bear tiny green-blue leaves that are adorned with discreet pink flowers in summer, followed by pretty dark pink berries of small size but produced abundantly, persisting on the branches for quite some time in winter if spared by the appetite of birds. Easy to grow in full sun or partial shade in any good garden soil, it is an excellent dense and ornamental ground cover, requiring very little maintenance.

Symphoricarpos x chenaultii belongs to the Caprifoliaceae family, just like honeysuckles. This deciduous shrub, discovered in Orleans in 1910 by R. Chenault, is a spontaneous hybrid between Symphoricarpos microphyllus, native to Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, and New Mexico, and S. orbiculatus, native to the eastern and central USA, as well as central Canada and northeastern Mexico.

The cultivar 'Hancock' forms a bushy and dense shrub with a low and spreading habit, reaching an average height of 60cm (23.6in) and a spread of over 2m (6ft 7in), with a moderately fast growth rate. Its foliage is late deciduous, composed of small oval-rounded leaves measuring 2cm (0.8in) long, green-blue on the upper surface and a lighter green on the lower surface. The lamina is slightly villous. Flowering occurs in the second half of summer, in August-September, in the form of small solitary or paired funnel-shaped flowers, ranging in colour from white to pink. After pollination by insects, they give way to numerous small berries measuring 8mm (0.3in) in diameter, of a deep pink colour.

Symphoricarpos are known for their robustness and beautiful winter fruiting. The cultivar 'Hancock' is ideal for covering large areas in challenging areas of the garden, where it brings a very neat touch. It will be appreciated for its ease of cultivation in shade or sun, its rustic appearance, and its dark pink fruiting. Perfect at the base of a tall hedge or in a shaded and bare corner of the garden, for example under a large tree, in a garden that leaves room for nature. Plant it without hesitation on a large slope, above a wall or retaining wall, at the edge of a terrace or pathway.