Height: 3 ft. 0 in. - 8 ft. 0 in.

Width: 3 ft. 0 in. - 6 ft. 0 in.

Light: Full sun, partial shade

Soil Drainage: Well-drained, moist, occasionally dry.

Flowers/fruit: Small blue, pink, purple flowers May-June. Showy blue, purple/lavender fall berries.

Replaces Nandina domestica.

Note: Leaves, when crushed, produce a chemical that can repel mosquitos, ticks, and fire ants!

Challenges: May quickly become a thicket if not cut back hard every year.

Wildlife Value: The shrub’s clusters of berries are a food source for many songbirds, including the American Robin, Brown Thrasher, American Goldfinch, White-throated Sparrow, Purple Finch, and Eastern Towhee (USDA says more than 40 bird species). The berries are also consumed by armadillos, foxes, opossum, raccoons, and squirrels. White-tailed deer are known to browse on the leaves in the summer and enjoy the fruits after leaf drops in the fall.