According to Dirr's Encyclopedia of Trees and Shrubs (2011) “Winter Red is the best selection for quantity and quality of bright red fruit. Fruit average 3/8” in diameter and they do not discolor to the degree of other cultivars.”

Still a nice fruit display on my Winter Red, even though temps have dipped into the single digits on two different occasions (11/13 & 12/19)

Dirr’s description is why I bought several Winter Red, but here it is one of the smaller berries. By now mine don’t have a berry left while many of the wild ones as well as ones in other yards still have oodles of berries far larger than mine..

Is there an arboretum you can visit to compare how various cultivars compare in your area?

Thank you, NHBabs. Arboretums nearby but don't know if any have trial plantings. Trying to find the cultivar with longest full berried stem before purchasing and then, perhaps, being disappointed. Don't have tons of space to experiment!

Seems odd to me that NHBabs' Winter Reds have no berries left. The species isn't very common at my location so I can't say how the berries on local wild plants might compare, but here's what the Winter Red in my yard currently looks like.

Gorgeous, thank you! Will put Winter Red on 2020 list.

Hi Patsepa6b, You need to know that you are this forum's #2 fan of winterberry, the #1 fan is yours truly. There is no other shrub with 4 full months of interest. They are carefree and disease free. Its important to note, they require full sun. Also no shearing or "meatball" treatment since this greatly reduces the number of berries. Cedar waxwings are among many birds that feed on the berries.

The highest quality fall/winter decorations are made from winterberry. Forget the fake, plastic stuff.

Oh my, I am thrilled to meet #!! Love all three pics. Your friend's farm is fabulous. Does he allow public to see his work? Looking forward to know his opinion. Thank you very much.

WOW.

Winter red is the female right? what plant for the male?

am I saying this correctly?

Southern Gentleman is the male pollinator typically used with Winter Red

Thanks

Here's a great example of how NOT to prune winterberry. These are part of a commercial planting surrounding a parking lot. "One size fits all" pruning rules the day. No one will ever express "beautiful!" about these shrubs, notice the modest smattering of berries on the top. My experience is that Ilex verticillata requires very little pruning, perhaps an occasional stem becomes top heavy and falls over, in which case it can be removed from the bottom and used for decoration. Shearing like this in pic greatly reduces berry production.

"Below pic taken yesterday in Maryland, no shortage of berries here. See the two groups of WB in the distance? The one that my fuzzy finger points to has a better color than the others. I plan to see the owner next month and will ask him the name of the best one.

Any update to the one you are pointing to?

Thanks,

Will

Any update ……..?

Yes, I talked to the owner and the exceptional cv in the pic is 'Winter Red'. This is an introduction from Simpson Nursery Co.

In response to the OP's question, 'Oosterwijk' is a highly regarded selection for cut stem production. THIS page has more.

Thank you, sam_md, for your thorough response.

Thank you!

Will

Beautiful! Winterberries are gorgeous...a big boast for winter season!!

Anyone know anything about soil acidity/alkalinity? Would they thrive in pH 6.6?

I would guess that 6.6 is near the upper limit of pH for winterberry. I've also observed that my Winter Reds seem to have better foliage color when we've had adequate rainfall through the summer. It often gets pretty dry mid to late summer here, and when it does they definitely look stressed. I'm assuming your avg annual rainfall is significantly higher than ours (about 30-32 inches here).

I have asked cut growers this question many times and I get the same answer, "It depends upon the year." For that reason, cut growers tend to grow several varieties, so that they will have at least one great crop of berries. The reason for this is that every cultivar has it's own bloom period, and the weather during the bloom time has an influence on the pollination and fruit development. A few days of rain can reduce the fruiting on one cultivar and a few days later, a sunny spell may help another cultivar. That being said, most all cultivars on the market were selected for their fruit production so all are good. If you are looking for cut branches then avoid the dwarf varieties. If you want smaller berries like (#4 below) then grow Sparkleberry. The best yellow I have seen is Berry Heavy Gold (lower photo). Winter Gold (#8 below) is not gold or yellow, but burnt orange. Plant more than one male cultivar as well, as this can also improve the fruit crop.

Loving all the pictures. This fall has been an excellent year for winterberry here in NE Pennsylvania, they're really brightening up my drive home from work in nearly every wet spot along the way.

Do they sucker in gardens? Most of the photos look like individual shrubs, while the wild ones here form spreading clumps.

Love your information and pictures, Tim Wood! Thank you.

In addition to Tim Wood's good photos, the Simpson Nursery info, and sam_md's picture of growing fields that reminded me of Foxborough Nursery - may I recommend the OP and anyone else that knows or wants to know more about Ilex verticillata and its friends: take a gander at the Holly Society of America website, and consider joining or going to one of their events!

http://www.hollysocam.org/

I have a been a long time member and officer in the national organization, so I have a bit of bias. I come by it honestly, though, learning firsthand about this Ohio River valley native from giants of horticulture like Bob Simpson, Theodore Klein, Bon Hartline, Don Shadow, Bob Adams, and Roy Klehm. I can vouch for having grown at least 25 taxa here at Viburnum Valley Farm in central Kentucky Bluegrass region on circumneutral heavier limestone-based clay soils: you don't need acid sandy loams, but Winterberry Holly definitely likes the mid Atlantic region like southeast Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, and Maryland/Virginia Chesapeake Bay. And Winterberry Holly detests drying out in lengthy droughty weather. Plan to supplement water, or site so that downspouts or stormwater runoff drains that way.

Seeing fields of this plant in fruit at nurseries like Foxborough and Simpson can cause palpitations. IPPS and HSA meetings have visited more than a few of these places over the years, and it is always spectacular and rewarding. Buying and growing out these plants from them is sheer joy.

Longwood Gardens performed a series of trials to examine quality and production of fruit on a wide range of Ilex verticillata clones. They published two articles in American Nurseryman magazine in February and March 2009, based on 12 years compiled evaluations. Sparkleberry (a hybrid developed by the US National Arboretum) was a reliably high scorer.

https://www.usna.usda.gov/assets/images/as_pdf_image/Ilex_Sparkleberry.pdf

Cut stems with persistent fruit are what florists crave. Last I checked, the top three for persistence, quantity, and color of fruit were Winter Red, Oosterwijk, and Maryland Beauty. Not necessarily in that order, nor probably the permanent standings, you could do worse than to be growing these and any of the others. Winterberry Holly is native over such a wide range of eastern North America, and selections come from all sectors (including 5 or 6 selected by Polly Hill from such an isolated area as the island of Martha's Vineyard!)

Here are some images of Winterberry Holly which will make you wonder why you don't already have a bunch in your landscape. These first three are one of the HSA sprig contests.

Now, here are some images from the 2013 HSA conference tour of Simpson Nursery in Vincennes, Indiana.

One plant of Red Sprite:

A red-fruited sport on a stem of Winter Gold:

Blocks of seedling Winterberry Holly under observation, with some weedy Boxwood that need to be grubbed out:

Awesome thread and one of my favorite shrubs.......especially this time of year. I have 'Winter Red' plus a female from a native plant nursery and both produce well here in NJ.

Does anyone notice if birds feed on cultivators just as much as the native ?

Viburnum Valley, so encouraged to know that I could use I. verticillata in my new home/new construction with 6.6 pH. Planning to landscape this spring.

@Jameszone7a Philadelphia, My only cultivar is Winterred, and the berries get eaten on the WR shrubs about at the same rate as the wild ones here. Many cultivars of winterberry are simply selections of wild bushes (as opposed to hybrids), so the main disadvantage is that they limit overall genertic diversity in people’s gardens. But if it means that folks are planting natives, it will provide native food plants for the critters. Some selections may have berries that are less appealing, but IME that just means that they provide food later in the winter when the more appealing berries are already eaten.

Hi laceyvail; seems like I remember you around forums like this for a couple years anyway.

Yes! You should have no trouble with growing Winterberry Holly, as long as you can provide moisture during droughty stretches. Organic mulch to amend soil over time will never hurt either.

I don't know if I ever knew what part of West Virginia you garden in, but a favorite named selection of Ilex verticillata came out of a West Virginia place name: Cacapon.

I hope your new landscape thrives.

Thanks, VV. Yes, I've been on these forums for some 20 years now, though not since Spike ran them. Most of the nurseries I've been looking at are carrying only the Poppins series, so I'm going with a couple of Berry Heavy and Mr Poppins. I need to finalize and make my orders very soon.

Plan on getting some winters reds tomorrow as well as a southern gentleman. Looking for some motivation for the new bed. What pairs well with them ?

Jameszone i a guessing you are jeeping tgem potted unril this cold freeze passes(?). Anyway photos of your areaof interest and what you want out of it would be helpful. winterberries get a pretty good size ( though they can be pruned). During the summer they are going to be a somewhat inconspicuous plain green shrub, so you may want to plant other shrubs that show spring, summer, or fall interest. of ourse the female cultivars really brighten the landscape come winter.

They are going in an empty corner of the front yard. I may group 3 together or space them apart in an open between the neighbor and I. I got to Mt airy Fothergilla as well for spring and fall color.

Fothergilla is a beautiful shrub -- honey-scented bottlebrush flowers in spring, handsome foliage through the summer months, and spectacular fall color (usually flamin' orange, but sometimes red or yellow). I have "Blue Shadow" at this house but had "Mt. Airy" at my other and have nothing but good things to say about it -- you made an excellent choice. Also consider some dwarf evergreens for a pleasing interplay with the berries over the winter.

Yup I grabbed two mt airy plants ! I think the fothergilla add some nice winter structure as well. Ever greens is a good idea !