Plant Guide with Characteristics, Classification, and other detailed information

Plant Guide

Ilex verticillata (L.) Gray
common winterberry
ILVE

Summary
Duration	Perennial
Growth Habit	Tree, Shrub
U.S. Nativity	Native to U.S.
Federal T/E Status
National Wetland Indicator	FACW, OBL

Morphology/Physiology
Active Growth Period	Spring and Summer
After Harvest Regrowth Rate
Bloat	None
C:N Ratio	High
Coppice Potential	No
Fall Conspicuous	Yes
Fire Resistant	No
Flower Color	White
Flower Conspicuous	No
Foliage Color	Green
Foliage Porosity Summer	Dense
Foliage Porosity Winter	Moderate
Foliage Texture	Coarse
Fruit/Seed Color	Red
Fruit/Seed Conspicuous	Yes
Growth Form	Multiple Stem
Growth Rate	Moderate
Height at 20 Years, Maximum (feet)	6
Height, Mature (feet)	10
Known Allelopath	No
Leaf Retention	No
Lifespan	Moderate
Low Growing Grass	No
Nitrogen Fixation
Resprout Ability	Yes
Shape and Orientation	Climbing
Toxicity	None

Growth Requirements
Adapted to Coarse Textured Soils	No
Adapted to Fine Textured Soils	Yes
Adapted to Medium Textured Soils	Yes
Anaerobic Tolerance	Low
CaCO3 Tolerance	Low
Cold Stratification Required	Yes
Drought Tolerance	Low
Fertility Requirement	Medium
Fire Tolerance	Low
Frost Free Days, Minimum	140
Hedge Tolerance	Low
Moisture Use	High
pH, Minimum	4.5
pH, Maximum	7.5
Planting Density per Acre, Minimum	700
Planting Density per Acre, Maximum	2700
Precipitation, Minimum	35
Precipitation, Maximum	60
Root Depth, Minimum (inches)	16
Salinity Tolerance	None
Shade Tolerance	Intermediate
Temperature, Minimum (°F)	-28

Reproduction
Bloom Period	Late Spring
Commercial Availability	Routinely Available
Fruit/Seed Abundance	High
Fruit/Seed Period Begin	Summer
Fruit/Seed Period End	Fall
Fruit/Seed Persistence	Yes
Propagated by Bare Root	Yes
Propagated by Bulb	No
Propagated by Container	Yes
Propagated by Corm	No
Propagated by Cuttings	No
Propagated by Seed	Yes
Propagated by Sod	No
Propagated by Sprigs	No
Propagated by Tubers	No
Seed per Pound	92000
Seed Spread Rate	Slow
Seedling Vigor	Low
Small Grain	No
Vegetative Spread Rate	None

Suitability/Use
Berry/Nut/Seed Product	No
Christmas Tree Product	No
Fodder Product	No
Fuelwood Product	None
Lumber Product	No
Naval Store Product	No
Nursery Stock Product	Yes
Palatable Browse Animal	Low
Palatable Graze Animal	Low
Palatable Human	No
Post Product	No
Protein Potential	Low
Pulpwood Product	No
Veneer Product	No

Ilex verticillata (L.) Gray
common winterberry
ILVE
Cultivar: Winter Red

Summary
Duration	Perennial
Growth Habit	Tree, Shrub
U.S. Nativity	Native to U.S.
Federal T/E Status
National Wetland Indicator	FACW, OBL

Morphology/Physiology
Active Growth Period	Spring and Summer
After Harvest Regrowth Rate
Bloat	None
C:N Ratio	High
Coppice Potential	No
Fall Conspicuous	Yes
Fire Resistant	No
Flower Color	White
Flower Conspicuous	No
Foliage Color	Green
Foliage Porosity Summer	Dense
Foliage Porosity Winter	Moderate
Foliage Texture	Coarse
Fruit/Seed Color	Red
Fruit/Seed Conspicuous	Yes
Growth Form	Multiple Stem
Growth Rate	Moderate
Height at 20 Years, Maximum (feet)	6
Height, Mature (feet)	9
Known Allelopath	No
Leaf Retention	No
Lifespan	Moderate
Low Growing Grass	No
Nitrogen Fixation
Resprout Ability	Yes
Shape and Orientation	Climbing
Toxicity	None

Growth Requirements
Adapted to Coarse Textured Soils	No
Adapted to Fine Textured Soils	Yes
Adapted to Medium Textured Soils	Yes
Anaerobic Tolerance	Low
CaCO3 Tolerance	Low
Cold Stratification Required	Yes
Drought Tolerance	Low
Fertility Requirement	Medium
Fire Tolerance	Low
Frost Free Days, Minimum	140
Hedge Tolerance	Low
Moisture Use	High
pH, Minimum	4.5
pH, Maximum	7.5
Planting Density per Acre, Minimum	700
Planting Density per Acre, Maximum	2700
Precipitation, Minimum	35
Precipitation, Maximum	60
Root Depth, Minimum (inches)	16
Salinity Tolerance	None
Shade Tolerance	Intermediate
Temperature, Minimum (°F)	-33

Reproduction
Bloom Period	Late Spring
Commercial Availability	Routinely Available
Fruit/Seed Abundance	High
Fruit/Seed Period Begin	Summer
Fruit/Seed Period End	Fall
Fruit/Seed Persistence	Yes
Propagated by Bare Root	Yes
Propagated by Bulb	No
Propagated by Container	Yes
Propagated by Corm	No
Propagated by Cuttings	Yes
Propagated by Seed	Yes
Propagated by Sod	No
Propagated by Sprigs	No
Propagated by Tubers	No
Seed per Pound	92000
Seed Spread Rate	Slow
Seedling Vigor	Low
Small Grain	No
Vegetative Spread Rate	None

Suitability/Use
Berry/Nut/Seed Product	No
Christmas Tree Product	No
Fodder Product	No
Fuelwood Product	None
Lumber Product	No
Naval Store Product	No
Nursery Stock Product	Yes
Palatable Browse Animal	Low
Palatable Graze Animal	Low
Palatable Human	No
Post Product	No
Protein Potential	Low
Pulpwood Product	No
Veneer Product	No

Kingdom Plantae -- Plants

Subkingdom Tracheobionta -- Vascular plants

Superdivision Spermatophyta -- Seed plants

Division Magnoliophyta -- Flowering plants

Class Magnoliopsida -- Dicotyledons

Subclass Rosidae

Order Celastrales

Family Aquifoliaceae -- Holly family

Genus Ilex L. -- holly P

Species Ilex verticillata (L.) Gray -- common winterberry P

Warning: Although this shrub species is a good provider of wildlife food, its fruits are poisonous to humans.

Uses

The attractive bright red fruit of winterberry is eaten by small mammals and more than 48 species of birds. The leaves and stems of winterberry are not a preferred source of browse, but moose, whitetail deer, cottontail rabbits, and snowshoe hare do utilize this plant. The persistent bright red fruit of this shrub make it very popular for landscaping. It is recommended for planting in shady moist areas, even though its growth and form are best under open grown conditions.

Status

Please consult the PLANTS Web site and your State Department of Natural Resources for this plant’s current status (e.g. threatened or endangered species, state noxious status, and wetland indicator values).

Description

Winterberry is an erect moderate sized shrub, growing to heights of 5 to 15 feet tall. The smooth bark of winterberry is gray to blackish, with knobby lenticels The dense branches of this shrub grow in a zigzag pattern with an upright spreading crown. The twigs are slender, with gray to gray-brown color and small buds.

The simple, smooth, obovate to oblong-ovate foliage is sharply double toothed, with medium fine texture. The deciduous leaves are arranged alternately along the stems. Each leaf is 1 1/2 to 4 inches long, with dark green summer color turning yellow in fall, then drop off by mid-October.

Small, inconspicuous, axillary, greenish to yellowish-white flowers bloom from April to July, after leaves have emerged. Like most others in the holly genus, winterberry is dioecious. Three years after planting, pistillate flowers begin to emerge in small clusters plants and staminate flowers develop on male plants with up to twelve flowers in a cluster; only now can plant gender be determined. Scarlet red to orange, globular fruit mature by late summer, often remaining on the plant into mid-winter. The berry-like fruit is about 1/4 inch in diameter, occurring singlely or in pairs, each containing 3 to 5 small nutlets. There are an average of 92,000 seeds per pound.

Adaptation and Distribution

Winterberry is found throughout the eastern United States. For a current distribution map, please consult the Plant Profile page for this species on the PLANTS Website.

Establishment

Planting units of winterberry are propagated by seed, rooted stem divisions, and stem cuttings alike. The germination is usually hindered by hard seed coats and embryo dormancy. Utilizing proper after ripening and cold moist stratification Precautions, germination can be stimulated. Seed should be covered with at least 1/8 to 1/2 inch of soil on nursery beds. Fall seedings should be mulched for winter protection.

When seedlings are acquired, the sex of the plant is typically indeterminable, in contrast to those propagated vegetatively. In late fall root suckers can be directly dug and transplanted, while actively growing softwood cuttings are taken from late spring to mid-summer. The cuttings are first placed under glass or plastic, but once roots form and begin to grow, they can be transplanted into containers or nursery beds for further development.

Utilize standard tree and shrub planting Precautions to plant bare rooted transplants, containerized, or balled and burlapped stock.

Management

It is important to plant both male and females within 40 feet of one another for adequate pollination. For wildlife plantings, it is advantageous to plant higher numbers of females. Weed control by mowing or chemical application is necessary to keep competing vegetation from over-topping winterberries.

Cultivars, Improved, and Selected Materials (and area of origin)

There are a number of ornamental varieties, selected for berry and leaf color, available from commercial nurseries. Local and regionally collected materials are available from native plant nurseries.

Prepared By & Species Coordinator:

USDA NRCS Northeast Plant Materials Program

Edited: 05Feb2002 JLK; 060801 jsp

For more information about this and other plants, please contact your local NRCS field office or Conservation District, and visit the PLANTS Web site<https://plants.usda.gov> or the Plant Materials Program Web site <https://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov>

Attribution: U.S. Department of Agriculture