Great Design Plant: Winterberry Rouses Frosty Gardens

Most people have never heard of the deciduous holly called winterberry — evergreen hollies are much better known and more commonly found in residential landscapes. But for gardeners in cold climates, winterberry offers a lot. It's easy to love this species and its many cultivars, which offer outstanding late-season color.

Botanical name: Ilex verticillata
Common names: Winterberry, Michigan holly, coralberry, black alder
Origin: Native to the eastern United States
Where it will grow: Hardy to -40 degrees Fahrenheit (USDA zones 3 to 9; find your zone)
Water requirement: Medium to wet soil; adapted to swamps and stream banks
Light requirement: Full sun to partial shade
Mature size: 6 to 10 feet tall and wide
Benefits and tolerances: Widely adaptable; suitable for swales, rain gardens, catchment basins or denuded areas with poor soils
Seasonal interest: Late fall through winter
When to plant: Early spring to late fall


Distinguishing traits. Easy-care winterberry stands in a class of its own, as few shrubs can match the brilliance of its winter color. It's also disease resistant and trouble free, and makes a good alternative to spirea or Japanese barberry (which can be invasive).

While its flowers are inconsequential, following pollination in early summer they swell into green fruits (drupes) that change color with the shorter days and the onset of frost, attracting cedar waxwing, grosbeak, cardinals, juncoes and other birds. Expect your shrubs to be stripped bare by winter's end.


How to use it. There are many cultivars to choose from, depending on your location and needs. Here at the U.S. Botanic Garden's National Garden in Washington, D.C., winterberry (also sometimes called deciduous holly) is used to soften an irregular fitted stone path. It's planted en masse to make a big impact in late fall when pretty much everything else is winding down, with the exception of asters.

While the foliage has no significant fall color, the fruits are lovely, especially the orange hued I. 'Winter Gold'. For a low-impact native garden, combine it with airy switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) and narrow-leaved bluestar (Amsonia hubrichtii), both of which are cold hardy to USDA zone 4.


Winterberry is a great choice to attract birds and other wildlife to naturalistic areas along woodland edges, but it also makes a good focal point in a sunny bed, where its color will draw the eye during winter.

I. 'Red Sprite' is a compact dwarf form that grows 3 to 5 feet tall; it's a good plant for massing along a slope or an entrance to a residence or commercial building. I. 'Sparkleberry', a U.S. National Arboretum introduction, grows to 15 feet and can be used as a small tree.


Planting notes. These are dioecious shrubs, with male and female plants, so you'll need a male to ensure good fruit set. Your nursery or a landscape professional can guide you to the right pairings; I. 'Southern Gentlemen' and I. 'Jim Dandy' are the most popular male cultivars.

The plants do best in acidic soils with a pH range of 4.5 to 6.5, so keep them away from concrete foundations and walkways, or amend the planting holes to boost pH levels.


Gardeners in snowy northern zones know the value of winter gardens that are designed to hold interest during the long months of dormancy. Cut branches of winterberry make festive arrangements, too.

More: Native Plants Inspire and Educate at NYC's Botanical Garden

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