NoVA Native: Winterberry

Volume 30 Issue 1, Winter 2025

by Kim Strader and Sheila Ferguson

There aren’t many plants that look beautiful in winter, but Winterberry (Ilex verticillata) is one of them. Bright red berries cluster along the branches and provide a pop of color, especially under gray skies or when it snows. Once the birds discover them, however, the berries will quickly disappear. Eastern Bluebirds, Cedar Waxwings and American Robins all like to feast on them, as do small mammals.

Winterberries are in the holly family and are either male or female — a trait typical of hollies. Both sexes are required for pollination to occur, and for the female to produce berries. (Male hollies do not have berries.) One male can provide pollen for multiple females, provided that all are within flying distance of visiting pollinators.

This medium-sized shrub is typically 6 to 10 feet tall. It is not known for its flowers, which are inconspicuous white blooms that appear in spring. Unlike most other hollies, Winterberry’s leaves do not have sharp teeth on the edges, and they are not evergreen. Although there are many cultivars available, you can’t beat the straight species for beauty and value to wildlife.

Winterberry is native to Virginia and grows in swamps, bogs, floodplain forests, and along ponds and streams where they can form thickets. In the home landscape, they readily adapt to dry conditions where they grow as single shrubs rather than forming thickets. Winterberry will grow in sun or shade, but it does need acidic soil.

Kim Strader is the former assistant curator of the Native Plant Trail at the State Arboretum of Virginia at Blandy Experimental Farm. Sheila Ferguson serves on the Steering Committee for Plant NOVA Natives.