Trees, Shrubs & Vines with Blue Fruit for Late-Season Interest

True blue is not a common color in the garden. The list of plants with true blue flowers runs short compared to those with purple, red, yellow or white blooms. Perhaps this scarcity is why gardeners love big blue hydrangeas, long to grow Himalayan poppy or, like me, appreciate the common chicory weed (Cichorium intybus) that grows along rural roads.

With blue being so special, why not find another source for it among the plants we grow? Let’s look at trees, shrubs and vines that bear blue fruits.  

Read More: Native Berries to Plant for Birds

What better place to start than with the eponymous blueberry (Vaccinium)? There are three main types of this shrub to choose from. 

The first—and most delectable—is highbush blueberry (V. corymbosum; USDA Zones 5–8). The key to growing this species is getting the soil right. Native to bogs and lowlands of eastern North America, it performs best in medium to wet, acidic (pH 4.8 to 5.2), well-mulched soil and full to part-day sun. Flowers emerge mid-spring, and once pollinated they produce half- to one-inch berries that ripen into summer.

Plant more than one bush, because cross-pollinated plants tend to produce more fruit. (New shrubs, however, should be deflowered during their first season in the garden, to direct their energy into establishing vigorous roots.) True to its name, highbush blueberry can easily grow 10 feet tall and wide, making it an excellent option for a hedgerow. 

Lowbush blueberry (V. angustifolium; Zones 2–8), another North American native, is a diminutive cousin to the highbush, topping out at two feet tall. It is less finicky about soil (though it too prefers an acidic pH) and it grows well in moist or dry conditions. It takes sun or partial shade, but more sun means more fruits.

The berries ripen small and sweet, making them perfect for jams and jellies. Like all blueberry plants, these bloom on old wood, so they should never be pruned in the spring. Doing so would remove their fruiting stems.  

European blueberry (V. myrtillus; Zones 3–8) stays even lower, just a foot high. The berries that ripen in autumn are correspondingly small, only a third of an inch in diameter. Native to the moorlands of Great Britain and also known as bilberry, this species grows best in moist, acidic soils, like its American cousins. In colder climes the plants do best in full sun, but in warmer regions they perform best with some shade. Loaded with antioxidants, European blueberries are good and good for you, especially when topped with cream and a little sugar. 

Learn More: Grow Blueberries and Their Relatives to Benefit Your Garden & Health

While we may casually call any small fruit on a shrub or vine a berry, that might not be technically accurate. Botanically speaking, a berry is a simple fleshy fruit that contains many seeds. This accurately describes a true blueberry, but most plants with “berry” in their name actually bear drupes—fleshy fruits containing a single, hard seed.

In this article, the true berrying plants are blueberry, Oregon grape holly and grape. The drupe bearers are viburnum, sapphireberry, elderberry, honeyberry and Virginia creeper. Oregon wintergreen produces capsules, and juniper sets its seed in cones.

Many of us are familiar with the dusty blue, berry-like fruits found on juniper shrubs, but there is one that is the best: Blueberry Delight juniper (Juniperus communis var. depressa ‘AmiDak’; Zones 2–6). Growing just 2 feet tall but capable of spreading 12 feet, it performs best in well-drained soil and full sun. Bred from a plant found in the badlands of North Dakota, the female Blueberry Delight needs a male juniper nearby to produce its showy seed cones, each of which consists of three fleshy scales surrounding two to four seeds. 

If you’re looking for a tree-form juniper in a warmer climate, turn to eastern red cedar (J. virginiana; Zones 2–9). Native to eastern North America, this reliable tree produces a similar blue seed cone and tolerates deer, drought, poor soils, occasional seawater inundation and air pollution. 

Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia; Zones 3–9) is the North American native replacement for invasive English ivy (Hedera helix) or Boston ivy (Parthenocissus tricuspidata), a related Asian species. Savvy gardeners choose Virginia creeper instead for its adaptability to different soils and light levels and its tolerance to deer, drought and black walnut allelopathy.

Never grow it up a tree, because it can climb to 50 feet and smother the canopy, and keep it off wooden buildings, because the sticky discs at the ends of its tendrils will hold fast and damage gutters and painted surfaces. The flowers are insignificant, but the blue drupes and crimson fall foliage create a striking combo. The fruits are toxic to humans, but birds love it. As the name implies, Virginia creeper is an excellent groundcover, spreading effectively in ravines and woodlands. 

For a blue fruit, the obvious choice among woody vines has to be the grape. ‘King of the North’ (Vitis labrusca × V. riparia ‘King of the North’; Zones 5–8) is an excellent native hybrid that tolerates cold winters and hot, humid summers. Grow it in deep, humus-rich soil and full sun for the sweetest fruit. It self-pollinates, so one vine is enough. Plant it near a strong support to cling to and with a northern exposure to keep it safe from winter winds and late-spring frosts. The flowers have a sweet, musky fragrance and develop into eight-inch drooping clusters of blue-black edible grapes. This is not a low-maintenance plant, especially if you want good fruit production, and in time it will grow 15 to 20 feet or more, so plan accordingly. 

Viburnums are stalwart shrubs of the garden, and several varieties sport blue berry-like drupes. 

A unique choice for warm-winter regions is the Mediterranean viburnum known as laurustinus (Viburnum tinus; Zones 8–10). This large evergreen shrub or small tree will thrive in moist, well-drained soil with full sun, though it can tolerate partial shade and clay. Laurustinus can reach 10 feet tall and wide and needs minimal maintenance.

It can be grown in Zone 7, but the winter cold and late-spring frosts may damage its twigs and buds, so site it in a protected spot and provide a deep winter mulch, or try it as a container plant to winter in a cool interior. Fragrant blooms that open from pink to white in early spring are a magnet for butterflies, followed by metallic blue drupes that birds love. Use two or more for best fruiting. 

A heavy-fruiting choice is Blue Muffin arrowwood viburnum (V. dentatum ‘Christom’; Zones 3–8). Blue Muffin stays relatively small at just three to five feet tall and wide and bears a profusion of fragrance-free white blossoms in late spring. As long as a male pollinator (such as V. d. Chicago Lustre, or ‘Synnesvedt’) grows nearby, these transform into a bumper crop of fruit from late summer into autumn. This North American deciduous shrub needs full sun for the best fruit production, yet it tolerates a wide range of soils, from clay to loam. It is also immune to the allelopathic effects of black walnut trees, and it well deserves a spot in bird-friendly hedgerows.  

David viburnum (V. davidii; Zones 7–9) is an evergreen shrub that reaches just two to three feet tall and up to four feet wide in a compact, mounded form perfect for a formal garden. Nice white flowers arrive in early spring, and when fertilized by a male shrub, the female shrub produces fruits that emerge green, change to pink then red and finally ripen to metallic blue and persist into winter. 

Note: Nurseries don’t often indicate the sex of individual David viburnums, and unlike the above-mentioned arrowwood viburnum or certain hollies (Ilex), there are no named male and female clones. For the best chance at making a match, shop for this species in the fall, when you can see which shrubs are bearing fruits or not. Planting in multiples of three or more increases the odds of growing different sexes. 

Plant David viburnum in good garden soil and, for the most part, in full sun. They do need some afternoon shade in hot-summer climates—for example, as groundcover beneath tall canopy trees.   

The first time I saw sapphireberry (Symplocos paniculata; Zones 4–8), I couldn’t believe my eyes. The clusters of shimmering drupes hanging from the branches in autumn didn’t look real. This is a very large deciduous shrub, topping out at 20 feet tall and wide in average soil and full sun, making it an excellent addition to the mixed hedgerow or bird habitat garden. The flowers coincide with those of viburnums, but rather than forming those familiar umbels, sapphireberry features drooping, fragrant panicles. Plant more than one to ensure cross-pollination for best fruiting. 

Formerly placed in the genus Mahonia, Oregon grape holly (Berberis aquifolium; Zones 5–8) is a favorite North American native evergreen for shade, and one that deer don’t eat. While it now resides in the genus Berberis, it is not invasive like some other members. I’m not a huge fan of this shrub’s shocking sulfur-colored flowers, but I love the showy, edible blue-black fruits that ripen in late summer and attract birds, including the elusive Swainson’s thrush. A moist, acidic soil suits Oregon grape, which can develop into colonies. Individuals reach six feet tall and five feet wide if protected from winter winds and direct sun.  

If you’re looking for a unique groundcover for dappled to dense shade, salal, or Oregon wintergreen (Gaultheria shallon; Zones 5–9) is a fun option. Indigenous to moist, acidic soils at lower elevations along the Pacific Northwest coast, this broadleaf evergreen shrub naturalizes into thickets. While florists prize the leathery, glossy green leaves, the small blue-black berries (actually pseudoberries, or capsules) that ripen in summer are a favorite food for grouse and numerous songbirds. It is an excellent choice for revegetation projects because, once established, it will quickly spread by underground stems.

When I need a reliable, dense-branching deciduous shrub for an ecologically sensitive planting plan or rain garden, I turn to northern bayberry (Myrica pensylvanica; Zones 3–7). Tolerant of poor and dry or consistently wet soils, sun or shade and salt spray, this eastern North America native is tough as nails but also quite striking in the landscape when allowed to colonize a meadow or seashore property. Specimens reach 5 to 10 feet tall and wide. The flowers are inconspicuous, but later in the year gray-blue berries stand out against bright red fall foliage. This species, too, requires a male to pollinate females. 

As one may gather from the colloquial name, blueberry elder (Sambucus nigra subsp. cerulea; Zones 4–9) is a variety of elderberry with blue fruit. Native to the mountainous regions of western North America, this deciduous tree or large shrub grows 15 to 30 feet tall and wide in medium to wet soils and full or partial sun. Sunny, wet locations promote the best fruiting. Large cymes of yellowish white flowers appear in early summer and give way to clusters of edible dark blue elderberries by autumn. While birds enjoy them off the plant, they become palatable to people only when cooked and included in sauces, jellies and, of course, elderberry wine. 

Honeyberry (Lonicera caerulea; Zones 2–6), or haskap, is a four-to-six-foot deciduous shrub found in boreal forest regions around the globe, making it the perfect edible fruit for cold-climate gardens. ‘Aurora’ is a preferred cultivar that fruits well and serves as an excellent pollinator for other varieties.

Plant it in organically rich, moist soils in sun, but provide afternoon shade in Zones 5 and 6. Cream-colored flowers erupt in early spring, spawning unique oval-teardrop-shaped drupes. These taste good straight from the plant, but they work especially well in pastries, juices and ice cream. Honeyberry cultivars must be cross-pollinated with a different variety, so grow three or more cultivars as a group or low hedge.  

Daryl Beyers is a professional gardener and gardening educator based in Northern California. A transplant from the East Coast, he draws from more than three decades of landscape design experience when recommending plants.