Shrub identification

Have this growing on the north side of my house, has a small greenish/white flower an serrated leaves, bears a red berry in the late autumn and is evergreen. I use it as a decoration at christmas because the berry is so holly like.

pajonica

Kinda reminds me of Ardisia but then again Aucuba japonica 'Serratifolia' http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/170158/

Thanks growin I think you are right, The lack of spots on the foliage got me off on the wrong track. Very nice well behaved
shrub!

pajonica

Looks like a handsome shrub. I couldn't tell how succulent the leaves are (as in Aucuba), so that would be a good indication. Here's a pic of Aucuba fruit so that might clearly ID it.

growin, On researching Aucuba japonica 'Serratifolia it certainly is a good look alike, but the flower period is summer
and the red berry is very conspicuous and it's covered in berries for the entire winter. The flower resembles privet.
I have had a good look around here and not seen anything quite like this one. Also it seems to be quite fast growing, about a foot a year.

Thanks
pajonica

The bloom time and bloom remind me of Euonymus. It might not be such a bad idea to pop this in the ID forum so everyone can take a look at it.

Hi, Pajonica.
I have a couple ardisias in pots, since they're not winter hardy here.
They certainly look similar.
As an aside, I first became acquainted with ardisia after seeing them in Kyoto in a beautiful garden.
The berry display was so striking, I was really enamored of it and sought it out here.
Unfortunately, it's hard to find for sale here.
But I eventually found a source and have grown it in a pot for almost 10 years.
I can't say the plants have thrived, but they do OK.
They love being put out for the summer, but languish during the winter indoors.
Here's a post of one of my ardisias. The foliage is lustrous and leathery.
Still some leftover berries from the winter.
What do yout think?

Hi weerobin, thanks thanks for the pic and feed back I agree the foliage and berry are somewhat similar, however mine is a 5 foot shrub whereas ardisia are more of a ground cover plant. Interesting you mention winter hardiness for ardisia
because Kyoto is very cold during the winter and gets a considerable amount of snow being on the Japan sea side.
It is nice to know that you have visited Japan, I do hope you enjoyed it.

pajonica

There are some Ardisia species that are taller--A. crenata is one that would be in the height range of yours http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/53496/ Not sure if that's it or not, but I'm sure there are other taller species as well.

Sorry, I should have been more specific. Mine is ardisia crenata.
The groundcover types are easier to find here, but a. crenata is definitely a shrub.
Mine (in a pot) is easily 2-3 ft tall; it grows exuberantly, so I'm sure it would be taller in the ground.