As you are reading this it probably looks a little bleak outside. The beautiful leaves that brightened everything up so much are now a pile in the compost bin. Once again the purple leaves of the white ash were very good at the arboretum this fall. The red of the Autumn Blaze maple trees also put on a show. Those are now history, or close to history for this year. So where are we going to find some color during this drab time of year?

Look no further than the genus Ilex. The common name for this plant is Winterberry Holly. As the name implies, Winterberry can be covered with bright red or in some cases, orange or golden colored berries. These berries are poisonous to humans but the birds really seem to like them.

The variety pictured above is called Little Sprite. This one is in the Garden of Seasons.

Little Sprite is a dwarf variety. While other varieties of Winterberry can get as tall as 12 to 15 feet. Sprite only grows to about 4 to 5 feet making it a nice size to plant in modern, small yard settings.

All Ilex grow well in full sun to part shade. They are tolerant of many different soil types but prefer moist, acidic soils.

One thing that you must remember when planting any Winterberry is that they require separate male and female plants, that bloom at the same time to have berries. One male plant can pollinate up to 10 female plants and they need to be planted in the same area.

There are many varieties of Winterberry Holly and I am sure that there is one for your Landscape.

As a last reminder, it is time to put protection around your plants that suffer from deer and rabbit damage. We have most of the lilacs protected from deer. Last year I was surprised when the deer scrapped their antlers on some of the small lilacs. The wood was no bigger in diameter than my finger.

This is now the end of the season, Don’t worry I will keep on the lookout for interesting topics to bring to your attention. In the meantime don’t forget about the most overlooked holiday of the year. ( In my opinion.)

Happy Thanksgiving,

The Horticulture Staff at The Cedar Valley Arboretum and Botanical Gardens