Winterberry Holly is a native holly, and it loses her leaves to reveal bright red berries that cover the spring growth of stems. (Photo by Ginny Rosenkranz)
There are some wonderful plants that add color and texture to the landscapes, especially the winter landscapes.
The American Holly is a wonderful native plant for the winter garden with its shiny or dull dark green leaves that stay on the trees all winter long.
There are both male and female trees that both produce fragrant creamy white flowers in the spring, and the female trees produce bright red or orange berries in the fall.
The berries decorate the female trees all winter and will provide food for our native songbirds in the late winter after multiple frosts soften the fruit.
The trees grow best in moist, slightly acidic soils in full sun to part shade.
They can grow 15-40 feet tall and 10-20 feet wide in an open pyramidal shape, with branches all the way to the ground.
The evergreen leaves are thick, leathery with spines at the tip and along the edges of the leaves and are arranged on the branches in an alternate fashion.
The plants can be planted to create hedges or privacy screens.
When in flower, the American Holly provides nectar for many pollinators including Henry’s Elfin butterflies and Honeybees.
Besides the songbirds, many other birds love to feast on the ripe fruit including turkeys and quail.
White tailed deer, squirrels and other small mammals also feast on the ripe fruit.
The branches of the leaves and berries make wonderful outdoor winter holiday decorations.
Another beautiful Holly is Nellie R. Stevens holly, born and bred on the Eastern Shore!
The plants are also evergreen and Nellie, being a female tree, produces a large amount of bright red to burgundy berries that last all winter.
Edward R. Stevens is the male, but if he is not available, she will still provide some colorful berries for winter color.
These beautiful Holly grow 15-25 feet tall and 8-10 feet wide in a dense pyramidal shape.
The leaves are a glossy dark green color that sets a beautiful background for the shiny red berries.
Winterberry Holly is also a native holly, but she loses her leaves to reveal bright red berries that cover the spring growth of stems.
Plants can grow 6-8 feet tall and wide and prefer to grow in medium to wet soil in full sun to part shade. The dark green lustrous leaves emerge in the spring and turn yellow to gold in the autumn before dropping off.
The male hollies are needed to fertilize the female flowers for the beautiful quarter-inch glossy berries which stay on to provide color and later food for birds and mammals in late winter.
These plants brighten up the landscapes in rain gardens, shrub borders or as a hedge where the beautiful bright red berries can be enjoyed all winter.
(Editor’s note: Ginny Rosenkranz is a commercial horticulture specialist with the University of Maryland Extension.)
