define partial shade in terms of hours and when its sun ..... noon sun is different than a couple hours at dusk and dawn ...

what are you feeding ... are foraging children an issue ... and what other vermin might you attract that wont make you happy ... e.g. if you want to feed birds.. but you attract tall white rats ... do you actually win???

ken

Nandina

Mahonia

Blueberry

Pyracantha

Holly

Distylium?

Distylium

IMO, none of the above suggestion will work for you.......with the possible exception of the mahonia. They will either not be sufficiently winter hardy for your climate, easily exceed your size requirements or require full sun to produce good berries. Or the berries will not be very showy. To my knowledge, distylium doesn't even produce berries!

Can you explain the need for a berry bearing plant? If for winter interest, perhaps we can suggest alternative ideas.

Snowberries (Symphoricarpos) are rather attractive shrubs.

Viburnum acerifolium/maple leafed viburnum is a native that has berries in full shade at my house, but they aren’t enormously prolific berry producers, and though the berries are nice when ripening, they shrivel and are relatively unattractive little brown lumps during the winter. The birds don’t find them appealing except when there are no other choices IME. My plants don’t grow beyond 4’ tall.

What about Actaea racemosa, black cohosh? It's a definite shade plant and is a host for native insects (the native varietal). Can't speak to the berries, but I believe it makes them.

Also blue cohosh, Caulophyllum thalictroides. Also is good for shade, short, and makes berries.

Kali ~ you might research Ilex 'Berry Poppins' (and male pollinator 'Mr. Poppins') which seem to be within the size you are looking for, and will be suitable for our zone. Better berry production with more sun, of course, but apparently can take partial shade. Happy gardening!

Roxanna

Distylium does produce berries, but gardengal is right that it may not be hardy for you.

Ilex (aka winterberry holly) are great berry-producing shrubs for colder zones. They flower in May then sit inconspicuously, but pleasantly, until those berries ripen in early fall and wowza that red will knock your socks off! The bright red berries are stunning against a blanket of crisp white snow. Alas, the birds eventually find them, but I can usually enjoy the berry show for at least part of the winter. I have grown them in partial shade at multiple houses, and they do just fine. Be aware they need a male pollinator, though --> but just one should do the trick.

Distylium is not a shrub I'd grow for berries. I have never seen a single one with berries.....just some dried seed pods. They are in the witch hazel family, which is not known for producing a berry-like fruit or seed.....and it certainly isn't showy if they do!!

In addition to the winterberry, cotoneaster may be possibility.

Yes to cotoneaster! I love it and was so disappointed my best nursery had none. He said landscapers avoid it because they trap leaves.

Ken - ah yes, partial sun at my house is unfortunately about 4 ish hours of afternoon sun. The east facing parts of our property are all covered in shade due to some seriously impressive white pines.

WOW Cotoneaster looks gorgeous!

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. To answer the question "Why berries", mainly because they're pretty and I have almost no berries on my property haha. I do however have lots of empty space in front of my house (for now). There's a little tree just on the edge of my property that has started putting out little red berries, I never noticed it in prior years but it's really beautiful. I can see it out my window when I have my coffee in the morning and it's very calming to look at.

gardengal - ah yes that makes sense. It's funny as much as other people seem to love witchhazel I am not a fan. Or at the very least I'm not a fan of having them in the specific places they reside on my property. They tend to get other vines growing in them and have runners (unless it's some other plant making runners). They get this gross fungus as well and take up valuable space that I could use for other trees/shrubs in my tiny shade garden. I am trying to convince my husband to let me rent a chainsaw and take them down. I wish I could just dig them up and give them away but they're massive (and also kind diseased looking).

roxanna - thank you I'll look into the Berry Poppins! I recently got China Girls and a China Boy. They seem to have made themselves comfortable and doing well.

deanna - wow that black cohosh is really beautiful! Such an interesting shape and nice texture. I'll have to see where around my neck of the woods I can find it

Just received this in my inbox. Maybe one of these will appeal to you!

Top shrubs for berries