Native winterberry’s fruits brighten winter landscape
If you are looking to add some holiday cheer to your garden, a wonderful native plant option is the Ilex verticillata, or winterberry. Its cheery red berries festooned on bare branches are a sight to behold, especially against the backdrop of the bare and snowy winter landscape.
This native holly distinguishes itself from the American holly, Ilex opaca, and the non-native English holly, Ilex aquifolium, in several ways: Unlike the other holly species that are evergreen, the winterberry holly is deciduous and loses its leaves in fall; its leaves aren’t sharply toothed, but rather, are small and elliptical with serrated margins; and it is a woody shrub and not a tree.
Slow-growing winterberry is found throughout the eastern and central United States. In its natural habitat it forms thickets and grows in boggy or wet areas.
It is a multi-stemmed, upright shrub with a spreading crown ranging in height and width from 3 to 12 feet.
Like other holly species, winterberry is also dioecious, in which male and female flowers are borne on different plants.
In early spring, after the leaves emerge, small and inconspicuous white-green flowers cover the stems. The flowers help determine the sex of the plant and bloom only when the plant is about 3 years old.
Once the flower on the female plant is pollinated, it develops into a scarlet red to orange fruit about one-quarter inch in diameter.
The fruit is botanically called a drupe (like peaches and cherries) because of its hard seeds, and is not a berry.
Uses
Winterberry is very showy in late fall and early winter because its bright fruits sit upon a naked, leafless stem. It is often used in Christmas decorations and floral arrangements.
It tolerates poorly drained and wet soils, and it works well in rain gardens that receive periodic inundation. Winterberry, red-osier dogwood, and buttonbush are all suitable native candidates for a damp, woody border.
Its spring flowers are nectar-rich and attract insects and butterflies, and are cross-pollinated by bees and flies. Deer and small mammals occasionally browse the plant, and nearly 50 species of birds, including the cedar waxwing, robin, bluebirds and mockingbirds, enjoy the fruit.
Warning: Although different parts of this plant were used medicinally by Native Americans, it should be noted that winterberry and all other Ilex species are somewhat toxic to pets and people if ingested.
Growing requirements
• Hardiness Zones: 3 to 9
• Sun: Sun to partial shade; produces abundant berries in full sun
• Water: average to wet
• Soil: prefers acidic environments and naturally colonizes wet, boggy sites, but it adapts well to average garden conditions. Compost or soil amendment can help moderate pH levels.
• Maintenance: Prune to desired shape in early spring. Suckers might need to be removed. Water well until established.
• Propagation: Seed germination is difficult. Suckers can be directly dug and transplanted. Male winterberry shrubs are needed to pollinate female plants for fruit production.
• Pest and diseases: Herbivory from deer, rabbit and mice. Chlorosis (leaf yellowing) in highly alkaline conditions. Nonserious leaf spot and powdery mildew might occur.
Cultivars: Numerous cultivars of winterberry are available. Some of the popular varieties include “Afterglow,” “Aurantiaca,” “Red Sprite” and “Winter Red.” When buying winterberry, make sure you purchase male cultivars that bloom at the same time as the female. An early-blooming male cultivar is “Jim Dandy.” Generally one male planted nearby is sufficient for 6 to 10 female plants.
Once a month, the OSU Extension Master Gardener’s Office of Franklin County profiles a plant that occurs naturally in central Ohio.