Ilex verticillata, commonly known as Winterberry Holly, produces a profusion of beautiful red berries. Its dense, heavy fruiting branches full of berries will hold all fall. Along with its yellow-bronze autumn foliage they create wonderful fall interest. The luminous red berries, against bare, dark branches will last through the winter. They provide considerable visual interest in the winter landscape. These Winterberries are seedlings (they were grown from seeds), and are a mix of male and female Winterberries. Typically growing to 10 feet tall and wide, Ilex verticillata is multi-stemmed and suckering. It has a really nice, rounded habit. It tolerates wet and boggy soil. So, Winterberry Holly plant does well in pond margins, stream beds, or low-lying areas of the yard. Mass planted or in small groups, it performs well as an accent or hedge plant. Berries are a food source for birds. The foliage is also a food source for wildlife including rabbits, and the larvae of the Harris three-spot and pawpaw sphinx moths. Female Winterberries will need a male Winterberry to pollinate its inconspicuous greenish-white blooms (one male for every 6 -10 females). Flowers bloom on new growth. So, if pruning to shape, do so in early spring before new growth appears. Deer tolerant. Berries are quite showy and will persist throughout the winter, and often into early spring.
