Winterberry Holly
Ilex verticillata
Adding winterberry holly can help brighten your winter garden during
the gloomiest months of the year. This plant is also great for
attracting birds and other wildlife to the landscape. Winterberry holly
is native to wet areas along the east coast from Florida to Canada and
can be grown throughout most of the United States.
In the landscape
Winterberry holly is excellent for massing and really stands out with
a taller evergreen planted behind it. This hardy holly rarely ever has
any pest or disease problems, making it a great plant for the novice
gardener. Winterberry thrives in wet, low-lying areas but can be grown
in moist well-drained soils too. Winterberry holly will survive in full
shade, but it will produce the most berries in full to partial-sun, so
plant accordingly.
Planting
Like all hollies, winterberry holly does require a male pollinator to
produce berries. Male hollies produce small inconspicuous flowers
required for pollinating a female holly, but do not produce berries.
Female hollies also produce the small flowers but then produce oodles of
berries in the fall. So I recommend gardeners plant this beauty in
groups of three: a male in the back and two females in the front.
For the home
Winterberry holly loses its leaves in the fall to unveil clusters of
bright, colorful berries. Cut branches can be brought indoors for
stunning holiday décor or winter floral arrangements.
Popular selections
‘Red Sprite’ — A more compact cultivar that only reaches 4 to 5 feet at maturity. This cultivar also has nice dark-green glossy foliage.
‘Berry Heavy’ — A new cultivar that packs itself with berries which can be seen a mile away! Grows to 8 feet tall and wide.
‘Winter Gold’ — Different from the usual winterberry hollies with salmon-colored berries. Grows to 6 feet tall and wide.
Male Pollinators:
‘Southern Gentleman’ — A male pollinator for ‘Red Sprite’ and ‘Berry Heavy.’
‘Jim Dandy’ — A male pollinator for ‘Winter Gold.’
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