Winterberry Holly

Winterberry Holly (Ilex verticillata)

Winterberry, Black Alder, Common Winterberry

Full to part sun, wet to medium moisture level, prefers rich organic soils — tolerates heavy clay and periodic flooding; moderately acid pH 4.5–6.0; develops chlorosis in alkaline soils.

6–10 feet tall and wide; blooms June with small greenish-white flowers; scarlet-red berries on female plants ripen in late summer and persist well into winter after leaf drop; dioecious — male pollenizer required within pollination range for fruit set; deciduous.

Growth rate: slow in youth, medium with fertilizer and consistent moisture. Suckers to form colonies. Propagation: difficult from seed; moderately difficult from cuttings.

Native region: Native to Tennessee; occurs in isolated county clusters across the state, primarily in the Cumberland Plateau and southern Coastal Plain, in swamps, bogs, wet meadows, and wet forest edges.

Winterberry holly's red berry display on bare stems in December and January is one of the most striking landscape effects of any native shrub in Middle Tennessee. The heavy fruit load requires a compatible male within pollination range; 'Jim Dandy' and 'Southern Gentleman' are widely available males that bloom at the same time as popular female cultivars 'Winter Red' and 'Sparkleberry'. Despite its wetland origins, winterberry adapts to average garden soils provided drainage is not excessively sharp — it is considerably more flexible than field guides suggest for clay-loam sites. Tar spot, leaf spots, and powdery mildew occur occasionally but cause no significant long-term decline. Attracts over 48 bird species recorded consuming the fruit across its range.