Winterberry Ilex verticillata 'Winter Gold'
Other plants called Winterberry:
- Phonetic Spelling
- EYE-leks ver-ti-si-LAY-tuh
- This plant has low severity poison characteristics.
- See below
- Description
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Ilex verticillata, or Winterberry, is dioecious (meaning individual flowers are either male or female, but only one sex is found on any one plant so both male and female plants must be grown if fruit (berries) are required). The 'Southern Gentleman' I. verticillata cultivar is the most common late blooming male pollinator plant for late blooming, female Ilex verticillata plants. 'Winter Gold' is a late blooming female I. verticillata cultivar that is compatible with 'Southern Gentleman'. You need a ratio of one male Winterberry for every 6 to 10 female Winterberry plants. The other, late blooming female I. verticillata cultivars, include ‘Cacapon’, ‘Shaver’, 'Sparkleberry’, ‘Sunset’, and 'Winter Red'.
'Winter Gold' is a deciduous shrub that provides year-round interest and makes an excellent hedge or addition to a rain garden. Its primary characteristic is the dense, heavy fruiting of orange-yellow berries that last throughout winter. As noted above, it is a female plant and needs a male to produce its showy orange-yellow fruits. It prefers full sun with some afternoon shade and medium to wet soils. It needs an acidic soil or may suffer from chlorosis. Because it tolerates wet soils it does well in pond margins, stream beds, or low lying areas of the yard. Mass plant or in small groups and place it in shrub borders or as foundation plants. Flowers appear on new growth. Prune to shape in early spring just before new growth appears.
Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems:
No serious problems. Powdery mildew and leaf spots are occasional problems. Plants will show a decline in alkaline soils.
VIDEO Created by Elizabeth Meyer for "Trees, Shrubs and Conifers" a plant identification course offered in partnership with Longwood Gardens.
- Profile Video:
- See this plant in the following landscape:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Tags:
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Attributes:
- Genus:
- Ilex
- Species:
- verticillata
- Family:
- Aquifoliaceae
- Life Cycle:
- Perennial
- Woody
- Recommended Propagation Strategy:
- Seed
- Stem Cutting
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- Eastern North America
- Distribution:
- North Carolina native
- Fire Risk Rating:
- low flammability
- Wildlife Value:
- The Winterberry is a host plant for Henry's Elfin butterfly and attracts other pollinators and birds. Members of the genus Ilex support the following specialized bee: Colletes banksi. The foliage is food source for rabbits and deer.
- Play Value:
- Attracts Pollinators
- Particularly Resistant To (Insects/Diseases/Other Problems):
- resistant to fire, damage by deer, heat, and drought.
- Dimensions:
- Height: 5 ft. 0 in. - 8 ft. 0 in.
- Width: 5 ft. 0 in. - 8 ft. 0 in.
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Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Native Plant
- Shrub
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Habit/Form:
- Erect
- Multi-stemmed
- Rounded
- Growth Rate:
- Slow
- Maintenance:
- Low
- Texture:
- Medium
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Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
- Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
- Soil Texture:
- Clay
- High Organic Matter
- Loam (Silt)
- Sand
- Soil pH:
- Acid (<6.0)
- Neutral (6.0-8.0)
- Soil Drainage:
- Moist
- Available Space To Plant:
- 3 feet-6 feet
- 6-feet-12 feet
- NC Region:
- Coastal
- Mountains
- Piedmont
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b, 5b, 5a, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9b, 9a
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Fruit:
- Fruit Color:
- Gold/Yellow
- Orange
- Fruit Value To Gardener:
- Long-lasting
- Showy
- Display/Harvest Time:
- Fall
- Winter
- Fruit Type:
- Berry
- Drupe
- Fruit Length:
- < 1 inch
- Fruit Width:
- < 1 inch
- Fruit Description:
- Orange-yellow 3/8 inch diameter fruits appear only if there is a male plant like 'Southern Gentleman' around to pollinate. They set in late summer but can persist into winter hence the common name. Fruits have a terminal black "dot" instead of a "fly" like the Rosaceae berries and are striking on naked branches.
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Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- Gold/Yellow
- Green
- White
- Flower Inflorescence:
- Cyme
- Insignificant
- Flower Value To Gardener:
- Fragrant
- Flower Bloom Time:
- Spring
- Summer
- Flower Size:
- < 1 inch
- Flower Description:
- Tiny white flowers with a green/yellow center in leaf axils from May-June. Flowers, if properly pollinated, give way to a crop of bright red berries (1/4 inch diameter) in late summer to fall.
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Leaves:
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Leaf Color:
- Green
- Leaf Feel:
- Glossy
- Leaf Value To Gardener:
- Long-lasting
- Showy
- Deciduous Leaf Fall Color:
- Gold/Yellow
- Leaf Type:
- Simple
- Leaf Arrangement:
- Alternate
- Leaf Shape:
- Oblanceolate
- Oblong
- Obovate
- Leaf Margin:
- Serrate
- Hairs Present:
- Yes
- Leaf Length:
- 1-3 inches
- Leaf Width:
- 1-3 inches
- Leaf Description:
- Dark green leaves 2 to 3 inches long with obvious venation outline on top with a lighter green underside where the veins are obvious in a pale-green. Fall color is variable but sometimes attractive yellow-bronze.
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Bark:
- Bark Color:
- Dark Gray
- Light Gray
- Surface/Attachment:
- Smooth
- Bark Description:
- Grey to blackish with knobby lenticel bark, grey to grey-brown buds.
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Stem:
- Stem Color:
- Brown/Copper
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
- Stem Lenticels:
- Conspicuous
- Stem Description:
- Stems are olive-brown to purplish-brown and are lenticelled.
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Landscape:
- Landscape Location:
- Pond
- Riparian
- Landscape Theme:
- Native Garden
- Rain Garden
- Winter Garden
- Design Feature:
- Border
- Foundation Planting
- Hedge
- Mass Planting
- Small groups
- Attracts:
- Butterflies
- Pollinators
- Songbirds
- Specialized Bees
- Resistance To Challenges:
- Erosion
- Fire
- Pollution
- Wet Soil
