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Winterberry Holly

Ilex verticillata

Winterberry is a deciduous holly, so its fruit arrives on bare gray twigs and reads from a hundred yards in December — the reason cut stems are a florist staple. Plants are male or female and only females fruit, so at least one male overlapping in bloom has to stand within about fifty feet. It takes wet ground better than almost any garden shrub, thriving at pond edges and in ditches that never drain, and it wants acidic soil. Robins, bluebirds and waxwings strip the berries late in winter, after repeated freezing and thawing has softened them, which is why the display lasts as long as it does. The berries are poisonous to people: like others in the genus they carry saponins and can cause vomiting, diarrhea and stupor if eaten in quantity. A caffeine-free tea is made from the dried leaves.

Family

Aquifoliaceae

Type

tree

Lifespan

perennial

Height

6–12 ft

Spacing

6–12 ft apart

Light

sun, part shade, shade

Soil moisture

dry, moist, wet

Soil pH

acidic, neutral

Bloom

April, May, June, July

Bloom colors

white, yellow, green, brown

Wildlife value

songbirds, butterflies, larval host

Caterpillar hosts

~39 butterfly & moth species

Landscape uses

border, foundation, rain garden

Native states

AL, AR, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, VA, VT, WI, WV