Spikes of Christmas red
The stunning red fruits of the winterberry, held aloft on leafless stems, bring stark elegance and Christmas colour to the December garden
shining against the snow, as glossy and jewel-like as ripe summer redcurrants, the berries of Ilex verticillata offer a vision of abundance, even as winter bites its hardest. Ruby fruits scatter the shrub’s soft grey stems from base to tip, which gracefully reach up to the cold, white winter sky with their offering of plenty.
Without the glossy green leaves of its evergreen cousins, this deciduous holly is an arresting sight. In a frosty winter scene, they are at their most glorious: above a blanket of pristine, white snow, the berries stand out as beads of perfect scarlet. It is for this reason that Ilex verticillata is simply known as the winterberry.
Smooth stems and soft edges
Deciduous hollies are rarer than the evergreen species, and their bare stems make them something special. When the leaves eventually fall, the tiny bright berries are revealed in all their spectacular glory, lining the slender branches that reach up in a ‘V’, creating an elegant vase shape. Rather than the stout and jolly robustness of an evergreen holly, their nakedness has a delicate grace that makes this a choice member of the holly family.
The leaves, which are present from May to October, are not prickly like other hollies, but soft and oval-shaped. They are a mid-green colour, with a soft texture when young, which gradually becomes darker and glossier as the seasons progress. The foliage eventually turns golden brown, then falls in autumn. The flowers appear in summer, but are so tiny as to be barely noticeable; merely 5mm across, with five to eight short and narrow cream petals.
This curious holly has its origins in North America, where most native hollies are deciduous. Of these, Ilex verticillata is the most well-known and widely grown. It grows naturally along the eastern seaboard, but has been introduced to most other temperate regions of the world.
Successful planting
What winterberry has in common with British native hollies is dioeciousness: individuals within this species are either male or female. Both produce flowers, but only the female plants will produce berries. So, for a display of berries, female plants must be planted alongside at least one male plant to achieve fertilisation. With just one plant, berries are unlikely to appear. Male and female plants will usually be labelled at
nurseries and garden centres. Some named cultivars have male and female counterparts. One is ‘Southern Gentleman’, which is a good pollinating partner for ‘Scarlett O’Hara’.
It is fully hardy and can survive down to -35°C, but in its natural habitat, I. verticillata ranges from Canada all the way down to Florida in the south, so can thrive in a broad range of temperatures. It does favour wetter soils and can often be found growing alongside streams and lakes in its natural habitat, one of its common names being the swamp winterberry. However, in the garden, it can be grown in most soils, except the most chalky, thin or alkaline. A neutral or acidic, moisture-retentive soil will see it thrive, and a position in full sun will encourage a prolific set of berries. Depending on how happy the shrub is in its spot, the branches can reach up to a height of between 5ft (1.5m) and 8ft 3in (2.5m), and stretch to 5ft (1.5m) wide.
The fruits of I. verticillata are a vibrant letterbox red and will stay on the branches for far longer than the berries of the native British holly. Winterberry fruits are an important food source for American robins, but here in the UK, they are often ignored by birds until other sources of food are exhausted. This makes them gratifyingly enduring in the garden. To aid the preservation of the berries, a well-stocked bird table in winter will help keep birds satisfied and less tempted to feast on the berries.
The long-lasting berries are this plant’s most useful characteristic, both indoors and out. They will last for months as cut stems inside the house, if kept out of water.
There are a handful of berries with an alternative hue: these derive from the form Ilex verticillata f. chrysocarpa. In botany, a form is a subgroup of plants within a species, and this one contains plants with golden berries. Orange-yellow berries cover the cultivar ‘Winter Gold’, and similarly named ‘Winter Red’ has a heavy crop of vivid red fruit. ‘Maryland Beauty’ again has red berries and is a more compact growing
“The holly bears a berry, As red as any blood” Anon, ‘The Holly and the Ivy’
cultivar at approximately 6ft 6in (2m) tall. But ‘Nana’, which is sometimes also named ‘Red Sprite’ or ‘Compacta’, grows to an even smaller 4ft (1.2m) high, making it ideal for more modest-sized gardens. With a width of 5ft (1.5m), this dwarf cultivar has a more relaxed, spreading habit, which is useful for planting in groups to create a low mass of red berries. There is a specialist supplier, Junker’s Nursery in Somerset, which offers a good range of Ilex verticillata cultivars.
Optimum displays
Group plantings are one of the best ways to display any winterberry, in odd-numbered lots of five or more. Planting them in a loose group, with the male in the centre, will aid pollination. Winterberry also makes a stunning naturalistic hedge, but the male should be planted in a separate place to avoid a conspicuously berry-free shrub within the hedge. Winterberry is not suitable for a hedge if it needs to be tightly clipped, as the shrub should only be lightly pruned in late winter or early spring in order to retain its berries.
Where space is too short for a group of winterberries, an effective way of growing them is to plant two ‘Nana’ in large containers and place them either side of a garden gate for a festive welcome. Pollination can be ensured by planting a male winterberry somewhere nearby; perhaps as a useful green backdrop for other plants in summer.
Planting partners
Winterberry shines in bold displays of specimen shrubs, especially when combined with evergreens. Alongside the glaucous blue of a Juniperus chinensis or the golden highlights of dwarf yew, Taxus baccata ‘Goldener Zwerg’ or Pinus mugo ‘Winter Gold’, red-berried forms will look vivid. Alternatively, pairings with variegated British hollies, Ilex aquifolium, will overflow with festive cheer.
The understorey of winterberry is the ideal place for herbaceous perennials with winter interest, such as Helleborus niger and snowdrops, to create a blanket of white, above which the remaining berries can shine late in winter. Shade-tolerant ornamental grasses, such as Carex comans ‘Bronze’ or Carex oshimensis ‘Evergold’, will make a sophisticated skirt of colour around the shrubs.
Winterberry shrubs are a cut above the average garden holly, their bare stems clustered with berries, creating a sculptural, more stark look. Growing enough to cut and bring into the home in winter will provide festive displays with a difference.