Native Red Berries for Wild Animal Winter Dinners in January
Winterberry Holly, a nourishing native plant, brightens winter landscapes
By Sona Mason
Few colors light up the bleak winter landscape like red. This time of year gets most people looking longingly out of the window and dreaming of what they would like to see there. Garden planning lists begin to grow and evergreens like hollies end up near the top.
While the typical holly does indeed cheer up a spot with its red and greens, it always has seemed a little too prickly and impractical to have close to areas where people, or more importantly, children with wheeled toys would be moving about and possibly bumping into things. On that note, it’s always amazed me how that invasive prickly plant – the Japanese barberry – ever became widely sold and planted.
Fortunately, one does not have to give up on red or put up with prickles for winter garden interest. Winterberry holly (Ilex verticillata), a soft-leaved deciduous native, carries off a brilliant show each year. Being clear of leaves enables the loaded branches of bright red berries to really shine spectacularly, which is why they also happen to be a main feature in winter floral arrangements. They are also a favorite and welcome meal for more than 40 species of birds during this lean time, including cedar waxwings and woodpeckers. The berries linger long on the plant, since they need a few freezing spells in order to soften and become more palatable to birds.
Winterberry holly prefers a moist, rich and acidic soil, and can reach up to 10-feet tall, and thus can be a good screen along a fence line or as a grouping of three. Don’t forget to include a male winterberry bush, to fertilize the flowers of the female plants that will become those berries.
Then grab your mug of hot chocolate, press your nose against the glass and enjoy the view.
Otherwise, check out Audubon’s Native Plant Database, https://www.audubon.org/native-plants. info@orangecountynyaudubon.org.
Community focused news can only succeed with community support. Please consider the various subscription levels.