As the forest turns to gold and the days grow shorter, something wild — and sweet — is happening in the understory. The berry bushes are heavy, the apples are ripe, and the winterberry is bright red. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is showcasing winterberry holly as an example of New York’s floral beauty.
Bright, beautiful, and beneficial to native insect and wildlife, ... A slow-growing shrub with a rounded upright growth habit, winterberry typically grows 3 to 15 feet tall and readily suckers and spreads to form large thickets. Winterberry holly tolerates all types of conditions except extreme dryness and grows best in wetland areas. Winterberry is a native shrub that lights up bare winter landscapes with bright red berries.
winterberry bush, Learn planting tips and how it supports birds year-round. When people see our winterberry hollies (Ilex verticillata), they’re immediately intrigued. It’s no wonder: these native shrubs are stunningly beautiful at the dreariest time of the year. Unlike many other hollies, however, winterberry is a deciduous shrub, which means it will drop its leaves in the cooler months. The classically beautiful red berries of the holly genus are present in winterberry, providing tons of winter interest for your garden.
winterberry bush, Winterberry holly is a slow-growing, woody, deciduous tree or shrub native to Eastern North America and a member of the holly family (Aquifoliaceae). The common name refers to the plant’s red berries that mature in the fall, providing winter interest and food for birds and small mammals. While most native shrubs are busy being boring from November through March, winterberry lights up like nature’s Christmas lights with clusters of brilliant red, orange, or gold berries that persist on bare stems all winter long.
