December 06, 2005
Winterberry--Inside and Out
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Citygardenguide hopes that there are some Ilex verticillata (winterberry) left in local gardens and parks, because you can't walk into a florist or restaurant this season without noticing their stiff brown branches covered in brilliant red berries. They seem to be the Christmas decoration du jour, and they make a nice change from the ubiquitous Poinsettia, which, being from the south (Mexico), always seems a little foreign to us--not to mention how mangy it can look after a couple of days in an overheated New York apartment. Winterberry, in contrast, is a native shrub or small tree and you can find it in the woods all around New York. It is a member of the holly (Ilex) family and flourishes in sun or part shade. It prefers moist sites, and is often found at the edges of streams or swampy areas. The vivid berries are produced in clusters and persist long after the plant has shed its leaves. This is the kind of plant catalogues mean when they say " winter interest."
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If you are thinking of growing them in your own garden, remember that it takes a boy and a girl to make these berries. Ilex are dioecious--the females bear the fruit, but only if they are pollinated by a male. When choosing your Winterberry at the nursery, you have to take the sex of the shrub on faith because to the untutored eye the male and the female look identical. Although they will survive fairly deep shade, berry production will be much more abundant in the sun.
Posted by gardenguidenyc at 06:25 PM | Comments (0)