Plant Portrait: Winterberry

Winterberry's brilliant red berries glow in the winter landscape (photo: GoBotany)

The Christmas season might bring to mind American Holly.  But there’s a deciduous holly that also brings out the red.

Indeed Winterberry’s profusion of brilliant red berries brighten the landscape often well into the New Year 🥳. As Richardson and Jaffe describe, in Native Plants for New England Gardens, “[it's] often the showiest plant in the winter garden.”

American Bluebird

Foraging

As winter wears on, mammals and dozens of bird species–including American Robins, Cedar Waxwings and Bluebirds–relish those berries at a time when nutritious foods can be hard to come by.

Unlike American Holly, Winterberry is a shrub typically growing 6 to 10 feet high and wide.  It has a round crown with branches extending close to the ground. 

In spring, Winterberry’s small, white flowers hold tight to the branches and pull in native bees, beetles, wasps and skippers.

Winterberry's flowers hold tight to the twigs

Gender Differences

Since male and female flowers appear on different bushes, at least one male is needed for female bushes to produce berries.  Like the flowers, these berries also hug the twigs and appear in a whorled fashion. 

In autumn, Winterberry’s leaves typically turn deep reds and purples before falling off. 

Larval Host

Henry's Elfin

The leaves also are a food source for wildlife, hosting caterpillars of various species including Henry’s Elfin and the Lo Moth.

Adaptable

Winterberry likes moist, well-drained soil and grows naturally in damp woods, swamps and thickets over much of the East Coast. Winterberry adapts well to most garden conditions except dry soil.

To create a hedge, the bushes should be planted 3 to 4 feet apart.

In short, Winterberry is a great example of a native plant that:

• Feeds wildlife

• Looks beautiful in most gardens, and

• Is deer resistant.

What else is there to look at?

Sources:

• Cullina, W. Native Trees, Shrubs & Vines. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston (2002). p. 142

• Dove, T. and Ginger Woolridge, Essential Native Trees and Shrubs for the Eastern United States.  Charlesbridge, Watertown, Mass., (2018) p. 226.

• Ilex verticillata, North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox.

• Ilex verticillata: common winterberry. GoBotany: Native Plant Trust.

• Richardson, M. and Dan Jaffe, Native Plants for New England Gardens. Rowman & Littlefield (2018), pp., 128-129.