Plant sales are closed for the season. Thank you to all of our wonderful customers for making this a successful and fulfilling year! We are now offering garden design services. Book a consultation now and start planning your spring pollinator garden! We are excited to help you create your beautiful garden! Come back January 1st to see our new inventory for 2025.



Winterberry Holly - Ilex verticillata

Regular price $33.00

Shipping calculated at checkout.

Phonetic: EYE-lecks vur-tiss-ih-LAY-tuh

Shrubs larger than 1 gallon can not be shipped.

Most shrubs will not be ready before the first week of June when they are fully leafed out.

 1 Gallon Pot - 18" Shrub Males and Females

3 Gallon Pot - 3' Shrub All Males

Winterberry Holly is grown in average, acidic, medium to wet soils in full sun to part shade. Good tolerance for poorly drained soils including wet boggy or swampy conditions. The plant is dioecious, needing both male and female plants to produce the attractive berries. Only fertilized female flowers will produce the attractive red berries that are the signature of the species. Generally, one male winterberry will be sufficient for pollinating 6-10 female plants. Flowers appear on new growth. Flowers, if properly pollinated, give way to a crop of bright red berries that are quite showy and will persist throughout the winter. It's fruits are eaten by over 48 species of birds, including cedar waxwings, and small mammals.

  • Hardiness Zone:  3-9
  • Native Northeast Region: USDA Database
  • Sun Exposure:  Full sun to partial shade
  • Flower Color: White
  • Bloom Time: June, July
  • Soil Type: Medium to Wet
  • Mature Plant Size: 6-12' Height, 6-12' Width
  • Plant Spacing:  8'
  • Host Plant:  Henry's Elfin 
  • Attracts:  Butterflys, Bees, Birds, Small Mammals
  • Advantages:  Naturalize, wetlands, wildlife food source
  • Landscape Uses:  Winter interest, Specimen
  • Companion Plants:  Red-osier Dogwood and Buttonbush
  • Deer Resistant