Flowers and Plants
Gardening Guides
Easterners: Consider This Native Alternative to Boxwood
Inkberry, or Ilex glabra, excels as a foundation plant or formal hedge perfectly suited to the East Coast
Inkberry (Ilex glabra) is a small to medium-size broad-leaved evergreen shrub native to the eastern coast of North America. It has lustrous medium to dark green leaves and a medium texture that make it a versatile evergreen component in many landscape designs. Though it isn’t as dense as many kinds of boxwood (Buxus), it can be considered a native alternative to that introduced species. You could also consider it as an alternative to heavenly bamboo (Nandina domestica), an introduced species that has become invasive in the southeastern U.S.
Two young inkberries are planted in the center of this garden bed with a cultivar of eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana) on the corner and a small-leaf form of mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) next to the porch.
Benefits and tolerances: Tolerates shade, wet soils, flooding, salty soils and clay; stabilizes soil; resists deer and rabbits; forms bird-attracting berries and bee-attracting flowers
Seasonal interest: Attractive foliage year-round (some cultivars have foliage that turns bronzy in winter, while others maintain a dark green color); small white blooms in midspring that attract honeybees; black berries in early fall that can persist to early spring (Ilex glabra forma leucocarpa bears white berries)
When to plant: Spring or fall are the preferred planting times, but container-grown plants can be put in at any time as long as they’re supplied with sufficient moisture.
Benefits and tolerances: Tolerates shade, wet soils, flooding, salty soils and clay; stabilizes soil; resists deer and rabbits; forms bird-attracting berries and bee-attracting flowers
Seasonal interest: Attractive foliage year-round (some cultivars have foliage that turns bronzy in winter, while others maintain a dark green color); small white blooms in midspring that attract honeybees; black berries in early fall that can persist to early spring (Ilex glabra forma leucocarpa bears white berries)
When to plant: Spring or fall are the preferred planting times, but container-grown plants can be put in at any time as long as they’re supplied with sufficient moisture.
Black berries grow on a ‘Compacta’ inkberry (Ilex glabra ‘Compacta’).
Distinguishing traits. Inkberry is a broad-leaved evergreen with waxy, medium to dark green leaves, depending on the individual plant or cultivar. The leaves are oblong, usually 1 to 2 inches long. It has an upright form with many branches. As this shrub ages, it has a tendency to lose leaves from the lower branches.
It produces small white flowers, mostly with six petals, that are very attractive to bees. It is predominantly dioecious, with male and female flowers occurring on separate plants.
Unlike many other hollies that have red berries, the fruits of inkberry are black, measuring about one-quarter inch in diameter. The berries have high value as winter food for a variety of birds. The flowers are very attractive to honeybees. A delicious honey produced from these flowers is referred to as gallberry honey.
Distinguishing traits. Inkberry is a broad-leaved evergreen with waxy, medium to dark green leaves, depending on the individual plant or cultivar. The leaves are oblong, usually 1 to 2 inches long. It has an upright form with many branches. As this shrub ages, it has a tendency to lose leaves from the lower branches.
It produces small white flowers, mostly with six petals, that are very attractive to bees. It is predominantly dioecious, with male and female flowers occurring on separate plants.
Unlike many other hollies that have red berries, the fruits of inkberry are black, measuring about one-quarter inch in diameter. The berries have high value as winter food for a variety of birds. The flowers are very attractive to honeybees. A delicious honey produced from these flowers is referred to as gallberry honey.
A smaller inkberry cultivar grows with other shrubs and perennials in a foundation planting. Located under the windows, the smaller inkberry grows slowly, is easy to contain and doesn’t block the views to the outside.
How to use it. Inkberry takes pruning well, so it is often used as a formal hedge plant. It is a native alternative to boxwood (Buxus) and is more cold-hardy than Japanese holly (Ilex crenata).
Without the extra pruning, however, it makes a beautiful semiformal or naturalistic border planting. It can be used as a foundation plant, especially when shorter cultivars are selected that do not block the windows. (You will need to be mindful of the soil pH in this application.) It also grows well as an evergreen screening plant to block the view of items like a utility box.
Its shallow, fibrous root system and suckering habit make it a good choice for stabilizing soils against erosion.
How to use it. Inkberry takes pruning well, so it is often used as a formal hedge plant. It is a native alternative to boxwood (Buxus) and is more cold-hardy than Japanese holly (Ilex crenata).
Without the extra pruning, however, it makes a beautiful semiformal or naturalistic border planting. It can be used as a foundation plant, especially when shorter cultivars are selected that do not block the windows. (You will need to be mindful of the soil pH in this application.) It also grows well as an evergreen screening plant to block the view of items like a utility box.
Its shallow, fibrous root system and suckering habit make it a good choice for stabilizing soils against erosion.
Inkberry grows in a rain garden that collects water from a parking lot in Brunswick, Maryland.
Inkberry is also a good choice for a rain garden, as it doesn’t mind the occasional flood or being in wet soil for extended periods.
Since these plants tend to become leggy with age, you can plant low-growing perennials or grasses underneath them. Alternatively, you can embrace the structure of the branches and show them off by removing any small or weak branches from the lower half of the plant.
Inkberry is also a good choice for a rain garden, as it doesn’t mind the occasional flood or being in wet soil for extended periods.
Since these plants tend to become leggy with age, you can plant low-growing perennials or grasses underneath them. Alternatively, you can embrace the structure of the branches and show them off by removing any small or weak branches from the lower half of the plant.
Ilex glabra forma leucocarpa, a naturally occurring form of inkberry, produces white berries.
Planting notes. Inkberry will grow in a wide variety of soils, from sand to clay, as long as the pH is on the acidic side (preferably between 4.5 and 6).
This shrub also takes pruning well, so older plants that have outgrown their space can be trimmed significantly to bring them in bounds. They can also be cut back and maintained as a formal hedge.
Winter burn is one problem encountered under harsh winter conditions. Affected branches can be pruned off, and the shrub will respond with new growth within a few weeks.
Since male and female flowers are usually on separate plants, you need to have at least one male in the area to get good berry production. That being said, some female plants do produce a few male flowers. Also, it is possible that neighbors many have some male plants nearby to handle the pollination duties.
Planting notes. Inkberry will grow in a wide variety of soils, from sand to clay, as long as the pH is on the acidic side (preferably between 4.5 and 6).
This shrub also takes pruning well, so older plants that have outgrown their space can be trimmed significantly to bring them in bounds. They can also be cut back and maintained as a formal hedge.
Winter burn is one problem encountered under harsh winter conditions. Affected branches can be pruned off, and the shrub will respond with new growth within a few weeks.
Since male and female flowers are usually on separate plants, you need to have at least one male in the area to get good berry production. That being said, some female plants do produce a few male flowers. Also, it is possible that neighbors many have some male plants nearby to handle the pollination duties.
Many cultivars are available in the nursery trade. These vary in size and growth rate, color and gloss of the leaves, tendency to hold their lower leaves, and berry color. Three popular cultivars are:
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- ‘Shamrock’, pictured: A 3- to 4-foot-tall female shrub with lustrous green leaves
- ‘Densa’: Another female, this grows 8 to 10 feet tall and tends to get leggy
- ‘Chamzin’ (sold under the trade name Nordic): A male plant that grows 4 feet tall and has improved cold hardiness
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Inkberry is often maintained with pruning as a hedge or in a rounded form. However, with the larger cultivars, and some patience, it develops a more open branching form that has a beauty of its own. I recall an overgrown hedge on a client’s property that looked as if it belonged in a Japanese garden, with its sinuous outstretching branches holding up evergreen leaves that looked like clouds. I imagine that it took 20 or more years to develop. In the short term, you can enjoy inkberry as a reliable native evergreen shrub.
Botanical name: Ilex glabra
Common names: Inkberry, inkberry holly, gallberry, Appalachian tea, evergreen winterberry
Origin: Coastal regions of the eastern U.S. from Louisiana north to Maine and Nova Scotia, Canada
Typical plant communities: Wet to mesic lowland, woodland seeps, savannas, moist prairies and along coastal ponds; requires acidic soils
Where it will grow: Hardy to minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 28.9 degrees Celsius (USDA zones 5 to 9; find your zone); some cultivars hardy to minus 25 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 31.7 degrees Celsius (Zone 4)
Water requirement: Prefers average to wet soils
Light requirement: Full sun to moderate shade; needs consistently moist soils in hot, sunny locations
Mature size: Wild-type plants typically grow 6 to 10 feet tall and wide (cultivars may have different mature sizes); mature plants may form suckers under favorable conditions.Note: The leaves and berries of inkberry are toxic to humans and mammalian pets, as are all species of holly (Ilex).