Holly Winterberry Winter Red Ilex verticillata 'Winter Red'

Ilex verticillata 'Winter Red' Key Feature: Berries Cold Hardiness Zone: 2-8 Light needs: Full to partial sun Sunset Climate Zone: 1–7 Mature size: Upright grower with moderate growth to 8 ft. tall and wide. Growth Habit: Round Flower Color: White Blooms: Tiny white flowers in early summer. Small white blooms mature into bright red fruit in fall with vivid color in winter after leaves have fallen. Needs a late blooming male pollenizer. Use as foundation color or in the back of the border for seasonal interest. Ideal natural hedge. Deciduous.

Performance and Requirements Light needs: Full to partial sun

Watering Needs: Needs wet or constantly moist soil

Growth Rate: Moderate Growing

Growth Habit: Round

Design Information Companion Plants

BRIGHT FANTASY™ SNOWBERRY Symphoricarpos 'Bokrabright' P.P.# 14570 HARRY LAUDER'S WALKING STICK Corylus avellana 'Contorta' (Own Root) VAUGHN'S LILLIE® OAK LEAF HYDRANGEA Hydrangea quercifolia 'Vaughn's Lillie'® P.P.# 12982 TOR BIRCHLEAF SPIREA Spiraea betulifolia 'Tor'

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Companion Plants (Description): This beautiful large evergreen is perfect to match with bold deciduous flowering shrubs such as Magical Gold Forsythia, (Forsythia x intermedia 'Kolgold'), Bright Fantasy Snowberry, (Symphoricarpos 'Bokrabright'), Vaughn's Lillie Oak Leaf Hydrangea, (Hydrangea quercifolia 'Vaughn's Lillie') and Tor Birchleaf Spiraea, (Spiraea betulifolia 'Tor').

Design Styles: A perfect broadleaf hedge material with seasonal interest. Plant in sideyards to screen off neighbor homes or unsightly land uses. Makes a fine rich green background for high color perennial borders, fountains or art. Plant along property line for privacy or to define boundaries. Makes a fine filler against multistory building walls. Use for nesting, food and habitat in wildlife gardens and open space.

Care Information Follow a regular watering schedule during the first growing season to establish a deep, extensive root system. Feed with a general purpose fertilizer before new growth begins in spring. For a tidy, neat appearance, shear to shape in early spring.

Background Information History: This native is a vital wildlife plant in the eastern states. The range extends from Canada to Florida and west to Wisconsin to Missouri. The species name refers to the whorled arrangement of leaves. Asa Gray of Harvard Univeristy classified these plants into genus Ilex.

Lore: Native Americans within its range used a decoction of the bark to treat malaria much the same way that quinine bark does. They also used it to treat a wide range of inflammatory problems and jaundice. This practice was adopted by early settlers.