Hi Dandy
Gardens North carries the Ilex verticillata seed and ships to the U.S.
Check the retail catalog section of the website under "woodies"
Hope this helps

Here is a link that might be useful: Gardens North

Thanks for the link. I had them bookmarked but forgot to look there. I'll probably send off an order next spring.

One thing you might consider is that Ilex verticillata requires a fairly long cold moist stratification period...it's probably not a bad idea to get the seed out in the fall and let it over winter in a flat. Germination isn't fast but it is fairly reliable...it just takes a lot of patience.

I've read 18 months to germinate I think. I have berries from Winter Red and Winter Gold, maybe Red Sprite too if the birds haven't finished them yet. You'll have to clean them. Email me.

Collecting and dispersing native seeds has been a holiday tradition of mine for years.Bunches of winterberry,highbush cranberry and pine cones used for wreathes,garland and tree decorations are ceramonially scattered in the new year along with the planting of the live christmas tree ,all native of course.Milkweed silk makes great fake snow.I've must have "planted" ten pounds of winterberry seeds alone, by now.

All holly seeds have immature embryo's and generally require a period of warm temperatures followed by cold stratification. Unless you like growing them from seed, are you not better off looking for a source of inexpensive seedlings?

NYwoodsman, I too have started a tradition of scattering native plant/shrub/tree seeds in my woods. Most will be eaten by squirrels and birds but the seeds still may have a chance if they are "deposited" ;o) and I've also started making my own suet cakes and packing them with native shrub berries such as Nannyberry, Elderberry, Dogwood berries, Highbush Cran, Arrow Wood Viburnum etc... I don't like the cheap store bought suet cakes and the expensive ones are well...just too expensive, so I decided to make my own this year and add the extra bonus of having native seeds inside them. If I had any entrepeneurial (sp?) spirit I would patent the idea and sell them though the high end birding and nature stores but alas, I'm LAZY so someone else will have to take my idea and run with it. Well it's not just laziness...you'd have to research native plants from various areas and produce cakes that are suitable for each area which is just too NUTS to try to do.

Anyway, that's my contribution to my backyard and surrounding areas.

As for the winterberry bushes... I am too impatient to try to grow them from seed so I've found a neat little native plant nursery out in the middle of nowhere and got each winterberry shrub (about 10"x10") for 2.00 each. IMHO I'd go with finding seedlings over trying to start from scratch unless you have a huge area that you want to cover. My winterberries are too young yet to have berries so I can't help you there but keep in mind also that you need to have a mix of male and female plants in order to get berries (unless some nursery has been able to graft a male to a female in which case you will pay through the nose for each plant).

Barb
southern Ontario, CANADA

Knottyceltic,I think thats a great idea!Certainly there are a number native fruiting trees and shrubs indigenous to large areas of the eastern us and canada to make specific marketing less of a problem.Go for that patent,and then sell them as a wholistic way to feed the birds and disperse native plant,the natural way,at the same time.I can think of a great add campaign.My efforts were much more casual,merely devising holiday traditions that were environmentally friendly.

NYWoodsman....Oh!!! Do tell of your idea for an advertisement campaign :o)

Barb
southern Ontario, CANADA

Barb,How about?;Feed your feathered friends a healthy natural snack,and they'll do the same for the local enviroment.......huh?

I'm looking to plant some sort of berry bush for the wildlife (particularly deer) at my cabin in the hills of central PA. We've tried with apple trees, but we've had some trouble getting them to grow. From what I've read, winterberry bushes are pretty robust and will take hold in a variety of soils, and can also adapt to varying degrees of sun/shade. So my question is, do you think the winterberry is a good choice to grow or is there another direction I should be looking in? Also, if I make an attempt at growing winterberries, would I be better off planting seeds or small shrubs that have already gotten started with the growing process? If I plant seeds, would there be a decent mixture of male/female seeds so that if I get a handful of them to grow, I will most likely have a group of bushes that will yield berries?

I'm pretty inexperienced when it comes to most of this stuff, so any help is appreciated. Thanks!