Coffeeberry is the quintessential suburban native shrub, from its neatly rounded shape to its subtly patterned sturdy leaves that stay green all year. A coffeeberry will blend into the background and adapt to shady or sunny conditions, and as a bonus, it is drought tolerant but doesn't mind occasional watering.
The appearance of the medium-green leaves differs depending on where the shrub is planted. With less light or more water, the leaves generally get larger and greener. More sun or drought generally produce smaller leaves that tend toward olive or grayer greens. In one suburban yard, I've seen a delightful range of leaf sizes. The form stays compact in sunny and windy spots, but gets more open in shadier and more protected exposures.
Like most natives, coffeeberry does best in well-drained soils. It is easy to prune, but looks best with its natural rounded form when used as a hedge, screen, or foundation plant. It's a good choice under the dripline of oaks, since it is drought tolerant and generally needs no added water after its first summer.
The berries are showy, emerging as light green and shading to deep red and finally to almost black in the fall. Though inedible for humans, the berries attract thrushes, mockingbirds, robins, finches, towhees, thrashers, and jays. The berries may stain patios and paths if planted next to them.
Coffeeberries also attract beneficial insects, including butterflies, which sip nectar from the tiny spring flowers and use the shrubs as a host plant. Birds hide from predators in the dense branches and forage for insects in the leaf litter underneath.
Known to botanists as Rhamnus californica, coffeeberry is available in several cultivated varieties, or cultivars, which are denoted in single quotes like this: 'Eve Case'. Because coffeeberry occurs naturally in many plant communities, choosing cultivars makes it easier for gardeners to put the right plant in the right place.
For the most genetic variability, in a location abutting wildlands, or where you need larger or less dense shrubs, plant the species, which can form a 10 foot or larger mound.
'Eve Case' is the most common coffeeberry and the largest of the cultivars. It grows relatively fast and can get 8 to 10 feet high and wide. The leaves are 3 inches long and 1 inch wide, greener, wider, and flatter than the species, and the half-inch berries are especially showy.
'Mound San Bruno' grows vigorously to a 5 foot mound, often wider, and is especially dense. Its leaves are lighter green and narrower than the species.
'Leatherleaf' forms an 8 foot mound. Its leaves are very dark, with rolled-under leaf edges, and can range from 2 inches long in a sunny location to 6 inches in the shade.
'Ed Holm' forms a 3 to 4 foot mound.
'Seaview' is a slowly spreading groundcover with bright green leaves that can be up to 2 feet high. It does best with some summer water and shade.
© 2008 Tanya Kucak