Feel the heat. The scarlet firethorn’s berries seem to radiate a feeling of warmth as we cherish its autumn splendor. The holiday season finds ripe clusters of bright orange-red fruits hanging heavy on the boughs of this thorny, broadleaf evergreen. Home gardeners use these berries for decorative accents in door wreaths, table centerpieces and fireplace mantle displays.

Pyracantha was introduced to our landscapes to serve as an accent plant to cover unsightly walls or provide evergreen privacy hedging. One of the most popular pyracantha species in the family Rosaceae, Pyracantha coccinea, reaches a height and width of some 15 feet. Given its stature at maturity, this ornamental shrub also makes for a handsome specimen or espalier with regular pruning to avoid excessive sprawl of its somewhat rangy branches.

Plant it in autumn or early winter, placing it in full sun to coax the showiest of fruit displays the following fall. The fleshy fruit is sure to catch the eye of feathered friends like cedar waxwings, thrushes and cardinals, providing them with a good source of stored energy and vitamins in winter. The berries are long-lasting, if overwintering birds have plenty else to eat.

Putting beauty aside, take care when pruning or tidying the pyracantha’s bed. Many is the long, sharp thorn extending from its woody stems to prick the skin even through gloves. The firethorn is not a good choice for children or assisted living facility gardens or near doorways, where unsuspecting guests may brush the plant only to feel the heat of pain or have their holiday finery snagged by the thorns.

The versatile pyracantha is fast growing in Shepherdstown’s loam or clay. This tough plant thrives in our cold hardiness zone, performs well in a wide range of pH soils and adjusts well to moist, dry or even wet conditions. Although it is a low maintenance shrub, do keep the pruners handy for shaping. Spring ushers in an attractive blanket of white flowers on old growth wood, so prune soon after flowering.

A healthy plant has shiny, dark green leaves that provide good contrasting color for the berries and flowers. As pyracantha is somewhat susceptible to fireblight, look to the cultivars for more disease resistance or if a smaller plant profile is appropriate to the site. Choose a cultivar with just the right berry color to complement other plants in a four-season garden.

Pair pyracantha with native grasses such as switch grass or little bluestem for good fall color, winter interest and a natural look to your garden design. This shrub is deer resistant and may act as a groundcover providing erosion control for slopes. For a complete profile, look to Cooperative Extension articles available online for readers of educational gardening publications.

Kristi Hendricks is a graduate of Shepherd College and West Virginia University and a Master Gardener with the Virginia Cooperative Extension. She can be reached at belowthejames@yahoo.com.