Pyracantha (thorn-less)

Beautiful picture, I hope to see some of this in VA this coming week when we visit my daughter there.

You inspired me to post a follow-up spotting. Thanks, ladies! http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/754...

I have discovered that there is a practically thornless cultivar - Pyracantha 'Watereri', that has crimson berries so I would imagine that this is the prime suspect here! It's been a useful exercise for me as I really wanted to plant a pyracantha to screen our AC units but didn't want anything thorny as we need access - now I have an ideal solution thanks to you!

Hey Karen! I revisited the red berry plant yesterday. Turns out it is completely thorn-less. On the walk home, I discovered a similar-looking plant, with ~1 inch long thorns, that the home owner confirmed is a Pyracantha. Do these observations cause you to reconsider your species ID suggestion? (FWIW, I shot photos of both plants.)

Glad to help Geodialist! Some cultivars are thornier than others but all have thorns! The blackbirds in my garden in england loved this shrub - it provided a really safe nest site & they used to strip all the berries off as soon as they ripened!
Ashley, ha ha - yes I am sneaky like that! :)

That's definitely Pyracantha - check this photo:
http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2005/12...

And Pyrancantha is called "Firethorn" for a reason. ;-)

Thanks for the quick response, KarenL! I didn't notice any thorns ... I'll double-check later today. Is the plant more likely to be Pyracantha if it's thornless?

Hah - while I was away trying to remember the name of this, I see Karen snuck in and got to it first. Yes, I concur - the leaves and berries both look right.

Looks like firethorn (pyracantha) - do you remember if it had thorns?