Symphorycarpos chenaultii

Symphoricarpos x chenaultii, also known as Chenault's Snowberry, is a beautiful deciduous bush that is not well known among gardeners. This old hybrid forms a large, upright bush with a flexible, dense and ramified habit, bearing tiny hairy leaves that are adorned with discreet pink flowers in summer, followed by pretty dark pink berries of small size but produced abundantly. They persist for quite a long time in winter on the branches if spared by the appetite of birds. Easy to grow in full sun or partial shade in any good garden soil, it is a plant with a wild charm, ideal for hedgerows, natural gardens or gardens without gardeners!

Symphoricarpos x chenaultii belongs to the Caprifoliaceae family, just like honeysuckles. This deciduous bush, discovered in Orléans 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.

This snowberry forms a dense bush with a flexible habit, reaching an average size of 1.60m (5ft 2in) in all directions, with moderately fast growth. Its foliage is late deciduous and resembles that of its first parent: small oval-rounded leaves, 2cm (0.8in) long, dark green on the upper surface but lighter green on the lower surface. The lamina is slightly hairy. Flowering takes place in the second half of summer, in August-September, in the form of small funnel-shaped flowers, solitary or paired, pink in colour. After pollination by insects, they give way to numerous small berries, 8mm (0.3in) in diameter, of a deep pink colour.

Snowberries are known for their robustness and their beautiful winter fruiting. This one will be appreciated for its ease of cultivation in shade or sun, its rustic appearance, and its dark pink fruiting that is not lacking in refinement. It easily integrates into a free hedge or a large shrub border without pretense, in a garden that makes room for nature. Many other deciduous or evergreen shrubs, with flowers or berries, can accompany it: Spireas, viburnums, lilacs, shrubby honeysuckles, cotoneaster, Elaeagnus, wild roses, Euonymus, flowering cherries and ornamental apples, hawthorns, Berberis...