Ilex verticillata Berry Heavy®, 1 gallon pot, Fall

This Ilex verticillata Berry Heavy® is a new spin on a native Winterberry Holly. It produces a bountiful crop of red berries that soften toward mid-winter, providing a welcome source of food for birds. A deciduous shrub that sheds its leaves in autumn, just in time to show off all the bright berries. Cut a few stems and use them to decorate indoors or outside for the holidays. Plants thrive in partial shade and damp soil, and they are tolerant of road salt. Use Mr. Poppins® as a male pollinator. A Proven Winners®/Color Choice® variety. 'Spravy'

Like most Hollies, Ilex verticillata has separate male and female plants. While only female plants can produce berries, male plants are necessary to provide pollen for their flowers. Gardeners usually give female plants a prominent spot and tuck the male plants in an out-of-the-way corner.

The genus Ilex includes some 350 species, best known for its spiny, evergreen forms with red berries. It's much harder to find selections of our deciduous, native species, I. verticillata. In the wild, it is often found in wet soil, but it also grows well in average soil and tolerates a fair measure of drought once established.

For more information on Ilex care, click on Growing Guide.

We want our customers to receive strong, healthy plants that are ready to thrive in their gardens and homes. Here's what we'd like you to know about our shipping practices.

Delivery Timing

We aim to deliver your plants at as close to the proper time for planting in your area as possible. To do so, we consider the USDA Hardiness Zone to which we're shipping, current and forecasted weather at the destination and along the shipping route, and whether your plants are ready for transplant.

In spring, we ship first to the warmest regions and move north as planting conditions improve. For fall deliveries, we begin with the coolest regions and work south. We frequently adjust shipping schedules when extreme weather could put plants at risk while in transit or soon after arrival.

Because different plants reach readiness at different rates and are weather-sensitive in varying degree, a single order may be delivered via multiple shipments. Plants sold as part of a collection, or that are otherwise meant to arrive together, will be shipped together. Please contact our customer service team with two weeks' advance notice if you anticipate being away at the expected time of delivery. 

Tracking information for each package is delivered via email. 

Plant & Container Sizes

We deliver plants in various sizes and stages of growth, and the product detail pages of our website indicate the form and/or pot size in which the plant will be delivered. Pot sizes range from 1 pint to 1 gallon and larger. Many perennials, roses, shrubs and vines are delivered bareroot - that is, not in a container at all. Bulbs and tubers are generally delivered bareroot and fully dormant. We choose container sizes and delivery methods based on how each plant grows best, how we can minimize transplant shock, and how to minimize unnecessary bulk/weight in shipment. 

Caring for Your Plants Upon Arrival

It is important to acclimate greenhouse-grown plants to life outdoors. All plant shipments include simple instructions for handling your plants upon arrival. Further how-to information, including planting instructions, is available on each plant's product page.

Latin Name Pronunciation: eye'-lex 

This genus includes some 350 species and is best known for its spiny, evergreen forms with red berries. There are also deciduous selections. All are popular landscape plants whose berries often persist well into winter, and are especially striking against the snow.

Only the female plants produce berries. Give the females a prominent spot and tuck the male plant (which is necessary for pollination) in a less obvious one. A male plant can be up to 40′ from the female without reducing fruit set.

Blue Hollies

The so-called Blue Hollies (Ilex x meserveae) are hybrids between the English Holly, I. aquifolium, and a more cold-tolerant species from northern Japan (I. rugosa). They offer the glossy, spiny leaves of English Holly on plants that are hardier.

Grow Blue Hollies in full sun or light shade in average, well-drained soil. In cold-winter climates, plant in a spot protected from north winds. Prune in late winter or after bloom, but be aware that pruning reduces fruit production.

Winterberry Hollies

Winterberry Hollies (Ilex verticillata) are deciduous plants. Leaves are mid-green and quite unlike the prickly, shiny leaves of evergreen Hollies. In the fall, the leaves turn yellow, then drop to reveal dense clusters of bright red, berry-like fruits on the female plants.

Winterberry Holly grows in full sun, partial shade, and even quite dense shade (at some cost to flower and berry production). In the wild, it is found in wet soil, but it also grows well in average soil and tolerates a fair measure of drought once established. It does insist on acid soil. Prune in late winter or after bloom, but be aware that pruning reduces fruit production. Not a good choice in the desert Southwest.

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