Your Friends at Smithfield Gardens

Native Beauties:  Winterberry Holly

(Another installment in our continuing series showcasing some of our best native trees and shrubs)

Winterberry in Snow

     As an easily amused horticulturist, I find it fascinating that there are plants capable of surviving a cold snowy Canadian winter, but which can also live through the steamy summers of Florida.  There are very few plants that can take such a wide range of climate conditions (zone 3-9), but one that can is Winterberry Holly (Ilex verticillata).  Unlike most Hollies normally grown in this area, Winterberries are deciduous, and this may cause some of you to question why anyone would want to grow a Holly that loses its leaves.  As the name implies, the reason these are grown is for their spectacular display of red fruit which cloaks the stems beginning in early fall continuing into winter.  When the leaves do fall off, the berry-covered stems stand out just that much more, and you won't believe what a little snow on the branches does to the scene.  Those of you who arrange flowers may have seen cut branches of this plant at the florist selling for $10-12 per stem.

Winterberry In A Wetland Along the Potomac

     In its native environment, Winterberry grows in wetlands and swamps.  In your own landscape they will do fine in wet to normal soil, but they are not very drought tolerant.  Though they will grow in light shade; full sun produces the most fruits.  One quirk with Winterberry is its sex life.  The showy fruit is only borne on the female plants, and in order to get fruit on the female you must also have a male plant nearby.  However, Winterberry is not an indiscriminate lover; each variety of female Winterberry requires pollination from a specific male.  Once a love match is made, one male can pollinate up to 5 or 6 females. 

'Winter Gold'

     We carry several varieties of Winterberry, and perhaps the best known and most popular is 'Winter Red'.  This plant gets about 8' tall and wide, is a profuse producer of 3/8" heavily-pigmented, bright red fruits.  An unusual sport of 'Winter Red' is 'Winter Gold' which is distinguished by its golden-yellow to pinkish-orange fruit.  It stays a little smaller, only getting about 7' tall.  Both 'Winter Red' and 'Winter Gold' are pollinated by 'Southern Gentleman'.  If the size of these is too big for your landscape, you may want to consider 'Red Sprite', which only gets 3-5' tall and wide.  It can be pollinated by either 'Jim Dandy' (a male dwarf) or by 'Apollo'.  'Red Sprite' may be smaller than other varieties, but it produces large bright red fruit that can be anywhere from 3/8" to 1/2".  Another popular variety is 'Sparkleberry', and it was developed at the U.S. National Arboretum.  This plant is more upright easily reaching 12' tall and wide and has 3/8" bright red berries that often last until March.  It is pollinated by 'Apollo'. 

Winterberry Close Up

     If you are trying to pick a good spot for Winterberry, think about putting them in front of a light-colored wall or white fence where the color will really pop in the winter landscape.  Being native, they also look good in a natural setting, perhaps on the edge of the woods.  Try pairing them with a white blooming Camellia or with an interesting variegated evergreen.  Most landscape designers would also tell you they look good planted in masses for best effect, and because of their cold hardiness, they can also be grown in a large container.  No matter where you may plant Winterberry, this underused native beauty deserves a place in your garden.

Les Parks