Ilex verticillata
Common Name(s):
- Phonetic Spelling
- EE-leks ver-tik-il-LAY-tah
- Description
-
Winterberry is a deciduous tree that may grow 10 to 15 feet tall, but it often occurs in the wild as a shrub. The leaves are alternate with a sharply toothed margin and hairy underside. The bark is thin, smooth, and gray-brown. In spring, stalked, yellow-green flowers mature in clusters. Female specimens produce red-orange drupes that mature in the fall.
The common name comes from the red berries that provide winter interest and sometimes persist into early spring (if the birds don't eat them). The berries appear just as the leaves are dropping in the fall. Berries have a terminal black "dot" instead of a "fly" like the Rosaceae berries. To obtain beautiful berries the plants must be property cross-pollinated. Match blooming times with a male pollinator like 'Jim Dandy' or 'Southern Gentleman' by planting one male (per 10-20 females) within 50 feet of female plants. There are dwarf cultivars available.
Fire Risk: This plant has a low flammability rating.
Insects, Diseases, or Other Plant Problems: No serious problems. Leaf spots and powdery mildew occasionally occur. Neutral to alkaline soils may cause chlorosis (yellowing of leaves) and even death. It may abort fruit set in dry soil.
Quick ID Hints:
- Deciduous shrubby holly with persistent red berries.
- Berry has a terminal black dot, not a 'fly'.
- Leaves are serrate and veins are pubescent underneath.
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 landscapes:
- Sloped Front Yard Entryway Garden, Cabarrus County Extension Office
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- 'Afterglow'
Pollinated by 'Apollo', 'Jim Dandy', 'Raritan' - 'Berry Heavy'
Pollinated by: 'Jim Dandy' - 'Berry Nice'
Pollinated by: 'Jim Dandy' - 'Bright Horizon'
- 'Carolina Cardinal'
- 'Golden Verboom'
- 'Jim Dandy'
Early blooming male pollinator - 'Jolly Red'
- 'Little Goblin Red'
- 'Nana'
Smaller 5 ft tall - 'Red Sprite'
Pollinated by: 'Jim Dandy', 'Raritan'
'Southern Gentleman'
- 'Sparkleberry'
Pollinated by: 'Apollo', 'Southern Gentleman', Raritan - 'Sunset'
8 ft. tall
'Winter Gold'
- 'Winter Red'
9 ft. tall, pollinated by: 'Apollo', 'Southern Gentleman'
Late blooming male pollinator
Green leaves with tiny white flowers - 'Afterglow'
- 'Afterglow', 'Berry Heavy', 'Berry Nice', 'Bright Horizon', 'Carolina Cardinal', 'Golden Verboom', 'Jim Dandy', 'Jolly Red', 'Little Goblin Red', 'Nana', 'Red Sprite', 'Southern Gentleman', 'Sparkleberry', 'Sunset', 'Winter Gold', 'Winter Red'
- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
-
- 'Afterglow'
Pollinated by 'Apollo', 'Jim Dandy', 'Raritan' - 'Berry Heavy'
Pollinated by: 'Jim Dandy' - 'Berry Nice'
Pollinated by: 'Jim Dandy' - 'Bright Horizon'
- 'Carolina Cardinal'
- 'Golden Verboom'
- 'Jim Dandy'
Early blooming male pollinator - 'Jolly Red'
- 'Little Goblin Red'
- 'Nana'
Smaller 5 ft tall - 'Red Sprite'
Pollinated by: 'Jim Dandy', 'Raritan'
'Southern Gentleman'
- 'Sparkleberry'
Pollinated by: 'Apollo', 'Southern Gentleman', Raritan - 'Sunset'
8 ft. tall
'Winter Gold'
- 'Winter Red'
9 ft. tall, pollinated by: 'Apollo', 'Southern Gentleman'
Late blooming male pollinator
Green leaves with tiny white flowers - 'Afterglow'
- 'Afterglow', 'Berry Heavy', 'Berry Nice', 'Bright Horizon', 'Carolina Cardinal', 'Golden Verboom', 'Jim Dandy', 'Jolly Red', 'Little Goblin Red', 'Nana', 'Red Sprite', 'Southern Gentleman', 'Sparkleberry', 'Sunset', 'Winter Gold', 'Winter Red'
- Tags:
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-
Attributes:
- Genus:
- Ilex
- Species:
- verticillata
- Family:
- Aquifoliaceae
- Uses (Ethnobotany):
- Hedge, Rain Garden
- Life Cycle:
- Woody
- Distribution:
- Eastern North America
- Fire Risk Rating:
- low flammability
- Wildlife Value:
- The Winterberry is a host plant for Henry's Elfin butterfly and attracts other pollinators. Its fruits are eaten by over 48 species of birds, including cedar waxwings, and small mammals. 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
- Edible fruit
- Wildlife Food Source
- Wildlife Larval Host
- Particularly Resistant To (Insects/Diseases/Other Problems):
- resistant to fire and mildly resistant to damage by deer. Heat, drought, and soil compaction tolerant.
- Dimensions:
- Height: 3 ft. 0 in. - 15 ft. 0 in.
- Width: 3 ft. 0 in. - 12 ft. 0 in.
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Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Native Plant
- Shrub
- Tree
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Habit/Form:
- Clumping
- Multi-stemmed
- Oval
- Rounded
- Growth Rate:
- Slow
- Maintenance:
- Low
- Texture:
- Medium
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Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Deep shade (Less than 2 hours to no direct sunlight)
- 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
- Loam (Silt)
- Sand
- Soil pH:
- Acid (<6.0)
- Soil Drainage:
- Good Drainage
- Moist
- Occasionally Wet
- Available Space To Plant:
- 3 feet-6 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:
- Orange
- Red/Burgundy
- Fruit Value To Gardener:
- Long-lasting
- Showy
- Display/Harvest Time:
- Fall
- Fruit Type:
- Berry
- Drupe
- Fruit Length:
- < 1 inch
- Fruit Width:
- < 1 inch
- Fruit Description:
- Bright red berry-like drupe on female plants; persists into winter. Berries ripen from August to December. Berries have a terminal black "dot" instead of a "fly" like the Rosaceae berries. Berries are striking on naked branches.
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Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- Gold/Yellow
- Green
- White
- Flower Inflorescence:
- Insignificant
- Flower Value To Gardener:
- Showy
- Flower Bloom Time:
- Spring
- Flower Size:
- < 1 inch
- Flower Description:
- This plant has relatively inconspicuous greenish-white flowers that appear in the leaf axils in late spring. Blooms from April to June. Flowers, if properly pollinated, give way to a crop of bright red berries (1/4” diameter) in late summer to fall.
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Leaves:
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Leaf Color:
- Black
- Green
- Purple/Lavender
- Leaf Feel:
- Glossy
- Deciduous Leaf Fall Color:
- Gold/Yellow
- Leaf Type:
- Simple
- Leaf Arrangement:
- Alternate
- Leaf Shape:
- Oblanceolate
- Oblong
- Obovate
- Leaf Margin:
- Doubly Serrate
- Serrate
- Hairs Present:
- Yes
- Leaf Length:
- 1-3 inches
- Leaf Width:
- 1-3 inches
- Leaf Description:
- Deciduous, simple, smooth, acuminate, cuneate, obovate to oblong-ovate 1.5-4 inches long double serrated or doubly serrated alternate leaves. Leaves are pubescent on veins beneath.
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Bark:
- Bark Color:
- Black
- Dark Brown
- Dark Gray
- Light Brown
- Light Gray
- Red/Burgundy
- 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
- Recreational Play Area
- Riparian
- Landscape Theme:
- Children's Garden
- Native Garden
- Pollinator Garden
- Rain Garden
- Winter Garden
- Design Feature:
- Border
- Foundation Planting
- Hedge
- Mass Planting
- Attracts:
- Butterflies
- Pollinators
- Small Mammals
- Songbirds
- Specialized Bees
- Resistance To Challenges:
- Deer
- Fire
- Salt
- Wet Soil
