The Fruits Of Our Labor

Sitting inside this cold wet morning, the second weather event of the winter season passes overhead, thankfully for us as rain and not as snow, like the first time. Looking out the window gives me the first real glimpse as to what the winter garden looks like this year. Nearly all of the deciduous plants have shed their leaves, leaving only those well chosen, either evergreen or otherwise interesting additions to our landscape. Fall color is vital, but can be fleeting; yet the winter interest will be with us for a much larger portion of the season, particularly in the north.

My last post told you that Lindera salicifolia was the first addition to our landscape, more so by the generosity of a friend than by any grand plan, although it still would have been an early addition. The second and planned item would immediately reinforce the idea of multi season effect, massing of like colors and textures for immediate and ultimately more dramatic effect. The obvious choice, Ilex Verticillata, the Winterberry Holly.
Native to a wide range of the eastern United States, partial to moist or lowland soils, yet quite tolerant of drought, once established. This multi-seasoned, multi-stemmed shrub has always been a favorite of mine. Growing to a height of 10 to 12 feet in several years, this plant is easily pruned back in late winter, to keep in scale for your individual landscape need. This pruning will actually stimulate a vigorous bloom with an abundant fruit set to follow and carry through the winter season. Preferring full to nearly full sun for best fruit production, it will grow in the deepest of shade as well, but with a clearly compromised fruit display.
Deep green foliage adorns the plant for most of the season until the chill of late autumn briefly turns them a pale yellow tone, only to fall soon after. What is revealed however is the reason we chose this plant for the winter garden. As a deciduous holly, it is different than most of its evergreen relatives in the genus Ilex. Setting it further apart is the fact that it has no thorns whatsoever, making this a great plant to live with. They can be used closer to our living spaces with out the threat of being poked or scratched, and have the advantage of displaying the fruit closer that we would normally want a holly.
Fall cleanup always makes me appreciate the decision, as I don’t have to clear by hand thorny leaves, that most of the other still worthy, landscape hollies yield.

More and more Winterberry selections are available, yet two always rise to the top in my estimation, Ilex verticillata ‘Winter Red’ and Ilex verticillata ‘Winter Gold’. Both female plants, as are all fruiting hollies, a pollinator may need to be present in the landscape to insure pollination and thereby fruit set. Consult your local nursery or garden center as to which pollinator is best for your region.

Ilex verticillata ‘Winter Red’ has long been the best choice for landscape use in the Mid Atlantic region. The deep red fruit persist long into the late winter, likely because it tastes worse than most winterberry cultivars, and the birds forgo it until the very end of the season. Straight species or natural populations are often denuded much earlier in the season, so if your conscience bothers you can plant some straight species mixed in your landscape for bird forage.
Durable and dependable, Ilex ‘Winter Red’ has long been one of the landscape plants, that I couldn’t garden without.





The selection ‘Winter Gold’ is a bit more recent, and is actually a selection of Ilex ‘Winter Red’. This means that it will do everything that ‘Winter Red’ will do, but with a different colored fruit to increase your landscape color palette. Closer to apricot than gold in my estimation, Ilex ‘Winter Gold’ teams wonderfully with evergreens and the burnished browns and bronzes of the winter landscape, such as Acer griseum, the Paperbark Maple, and Microbiota decussata, the Siberian carpet cypress.

Either choice you make will be the right one between these two hollies, think about your own color preferences, and whom they will be performing with in the winter chorus that is your landscape.


Travel Update: New Zealand here we come! December 25 to January 17, North and South Island. Gardens, Parks, Nurseries and natural areas......High summer. Stay tuned for updates as we travel.