Deerberry

Size, growth and what to expect

Deerberry grows at a medium pace, roughly a foot and a half a year in its youth on an average site, which is the rate our growth estimator uses for it. Most plants stand 6 to 12 feet tall and about as wide, and the tallest reach 15 feet. The open greenish-white bells are a quarter inch across and hang from April into early June. Seedlings planted in full sun flower within 3 to 5 years.

The berries that follow are pear-shaped and up to half an inch long, ripening from pale yellow and green to purple with a whitish bloom. They are edible but sour, and songbirds, small mammals, ruffed grouse, wild turkeys, deer and black bears clear them.

It grows wild from Maine and southern Ontario west to Kansas and south to Florida and Texas, in dry rocky or sandy woods, ridges, upland slopes and glades.

How to grow Deerberry

Deerberry grows in full sun or the part shade of high oaks and pines. It must have acid soil, pH below 6, with sharp drainage; in sweet or limed soil the leaves yellow. It suckers, so set plants 6 feet apart.

Plant a dormant bare-root or potted shrub from leaf fall until bud swell, in a hole wider than the roots and no deeper. Set the crown at the soil line, put the native soil back in, and keep a mulch of pine straw or oak leaves off the stems. No lime, no fertilizer. The seed is small and needs light and usually a cold spell. Clean it from ripe berries in water, sow it on the surface of a flat of moist acid mix, uncovered, and leave the flat outdoors for the winter. For spring, give it 60 to 90 days in a damp bag in the refrigerator first. Keep the flat shaded and moist; it comes up in spring.

Water weekly through the first summer if rain is short; after that it needs nothing. Deer browse the leaves as well as the fruit and rabbits nip young stems, so cage plants for two or three years where deer are heavy. Keep mulch thin at the stems so voles do not nest there. Prune only dead wood.

Growth is moderate. Deerberry appears to need pollen from another plant to set a full crop, so plant two or more within a few yards and let the bees work. The berries ripen from August into September and hang until the birds and deer take them. Yellow leaves with green veins mean the soil is too sweet.