Whitebeam (Sorbus aria)
Whitebeam
(Sorbus aria)
Decorative all year round, a whitebeam is a lovely addition to any wildlife garden.
Whitebeam is a compact, small to medium sized tree with large beautiful leaves which are dark green above but silvery white below. Very easy to grow, even happy on chalk it is good value with masses of white flowers in May turning into bright red fruit in the autumn which look great against the leaves as they turn to gold. It is tolerant of windy conditions where the dramatic leaves can be shown off to good effect.
The fruit is said to be edible but is a bit on the mealy side, fine for the birds though.