Ilex verticillata 'Winter Red' - Winter Red Winterberry

2025-10-27T15:00:21-04:00

Price: 52.99

Winter Red Winterberry is a slow-growing upright deciduous shrub with a rounded habit and luscious dark green foliage. As a female cultivar, Winter Red produces heavy amounts of large glossy bright red berries if pollinated that can persist all the way to spring. Best planted in moist, slightly acidic well-drained soils. Hollies are dioecious and need both male and female plants to produce fruit.

Ilex verticillata is a native food source for several animals and pollinators, and acts as a host for various moths and the Henry's Elfin Butterfly. While the wildlife enjoys the berries they are toxic to humans.

Type: | Shrub
Origins: | Eastern N. America; north GA Native
Height: | 6' - 8'
Spread: | 6’ - 8'
Spacing: | 7’
USDA Hardiness Zone: | 3 - 9
Culture: | Full Sun, Part Sun
Bloom Color: | White
Season of Interest: | Spring, Fall, Year-Round

MAINTENANCE NEEDS: Low Maintenance. Water regularly. Well-drained soils essential. Potential issues include mites, scale, leaf spot, rot, and mildew. Susceptible to leaf scorch or drop if not protected from afternoon sun in hotter climates.

LANDSCAPE USES: Accents or Group Plantings, Borders, Woodland Gardens, Wildlife Gardens, Privacy Screen, Foundation Plantings, Hedges, and Containers.

COMPANION PLANTS: Magnolia, Peony, Blueberry

IMAGES: Photo by David J. Stang, Ilex verticillata Winter Red 9zz, CC BY-SA 4.0

*As plants have ranges in appearance they may not appear as the images shown