Visit

Wilmington News Journal Article, November 1, 2007

Winter’s Rubies

Now is the time to help your garden reveal its true late-season character

Rick J. Lewandowski, Director, Mt. Cuba Center

Thankfully, the memories of the long, hot summer and dry autumn of 2007 we’ve all had to endure are finally beginning to fade. Autumn foliage carpeting the ground creates a kaleidoscope of fading colors; one last tangible memory of the gardening year.

With this seasonal change and the sharp chill in the air, it must be time to put the garden to bed, right? Well, let’s not be too hasty! This could be the perfect time of year to wake up your garden and reveal its wintry character, highlighting an entirely different aspect of your garden for wintertime guests.

What are we talking about? Late autumn and winter can be the perfect time of year to enjoy the “fruits” of a year’s worth of gardening labor both figuratively and literally. Among the most spectacular plants to incorporate into your garden for winter fruit display is our regionally native shrub, winterberry or winterberry holly (Ilex verticillata). Unlike other native hollies in our area that remain evergreen such as American holly (Ilex opaca) and inkberry holly (Ilex glabra), winterberry displays abundant and fiery clusters of red, orange or yellow fruit on completely leafless stems during wintertime.

Winterberry grows naturally in wetlands communities throughout the eastern half of the U.S. In fact, this is a perfect time of year to enjoy seeing it fruiting in moist places along roadsides, in coastal wetlands habitats, in bogs and along streams throughout Delaware, Maryland, and New Jersey.

Winterberry has the interesting capacity to thrive in poorly drained, oxygen-deprived soils—perfect for those wet areas some of us have in our gardens. Better yet, gardeners without moist soils have discovered that this holly grows nearly as happily in well-drained and dry garden conditions. Winterberry is truly a versatile plant for the landscape.

Dozens of winterberry cultivars--plants that have been selected, cloned and given names because of their superior ornamental qualities--have been introduced for fruit color, fruit size, fruit density, and fruit retention. In addition, cultivars have been selected for their form, ranging from spreading to upright and even dwarf forms. My short-list of favorite winterberry hollies include ‘Maryland Beauty’(compact habit, large bright red fruit), ‘Red Sprite’ (dwarf, large red fruit), ‘Scarlett O’Hara’ (spreading habit, bright red fruit), ‘Sunset’ (reddish-orange fruit, heavy fruiter) and Winter RedÒ (upright habit, intense red fruit on dark stems). But don’t stop here. Virtually all the winterberry cultivars are garden worthy candidates.

Remember, winterberry, like all hollies, has distinct female (fruiting) plants and male (pollen-bearing) plants. In order to obtain excellent fruit displays on female plants, it is necessary to have a male plant growing nearby. Select a male cultivar that blooms at the same time as the female cultivar to insure the best fruit-set. Some male cultivars include ‘Jim Dandy’ (pollinates ‘Maryland Beauty’ and ‘Red Sprite’), ‘Rhett Butler’ (yes--it pollinates ‘Scarlett O’Hara’) and ‘Southern Gentleman’ (pollinates ‘Sunset’ and Winter Red®). One male winterberry is usually sufficient to pollinate several female winterberry hollies as long as the plants are within several feet of each other.

Generally speaking, winterberry produces the most prolific fruit displays in full sun. While it can grow in part shade to shade, winterberry is far less attractive, becoming a loose and open shrub with sparse fruit displays. Though found naturally growing in acid soils, winterberry is tolerant of soil pH as high as 6.8 or so. Under these conditions, winterberry is a carefree multi-stemmed shrub that ranges in size from four to ten feet tall depending upon the cultivar. It makes a fine specimen, is excellent in masses, or can be grown for cut-branch use in winter arrangements.

Winterberry fruit is typically considered a low feeding preference to wildlife in early winter, remaining attractive and undisturbed on plants, frequently into the New Year. After the coldest part of winter, however, birds and other wildlife such as squirrels begin to eat their fruit. Robins, cedar waxwings, thrushes, catbirds, flickers and brown thrashers are just a few birds that find winterberry a delectable late winter treat.

Winterberry can produce outstanding displays of fruit on its branches for several years without significant maintenance. Even so, pruning plants regularly keeps them young and vigorously growing. Once a winterberry is five to seven years old, cut one-fifth to one-quarter of the oldest stems back to the ground each year. This insures that the oldest stems on the winterberry will be about five years old. Your efforts will be rewarded with a vigorous multi-stemmed shrub that continues to produce huge volumes of fruit each year--as long as you’ve planted that male companion nearby to insure good pollination!

There’s not doubt that winterberry is a versatile plant with excellent winter garden appeal. Plant this shrub in your garden and you are sure to brighten up your winter landscape for many years to come.