February 2026 Newsletter

American holly, known for her brilliant red drupes and deep green spiny leaves, thrives in the winter. While the rest of us are huddled around tea or considering whether four layers will fit under a winter jacket, American Holly, or Ilex opaca, has no trouble weathering the cold. These broadleaf evergreen trees are native to the Eastern and central United States - from maritime forests in Massachusetts to the coastal dunes of Delaware, all the way to eastern Texas and back to northern Florida. American holly flowers May through June, producing clusters of small greenish-white flowers that smell a little bit like honey; as a dioecious species, male flowers pollinate female flowers, and fertile female flowers eventually turn into red or, less commonly, orangish yellow fruits about 1/3 inch in diameter. Each individual fruit contains 4-9 seeds in their own little nutlets, which means that per pound of winterberry berries, there can be up to 28,000 seeds! 

American holly is a slow growing tree and can reach 15 to 30 feet tall, but sizes can vary greatly among site conditions and varieties, with some wild specimens growing to over 100’ tall and other dwarf cultivars growing to only 3-4' in a shrubby form. In addition to their showy ornamental appeal, American hollies are also particularly hardy as well as salt tolerant, with the largest stand of trees on the east coast found on Sandy Hook, a barrier peninsula in New Jersey. With over 1,000 named cultivars, a far-reaching native range, and a ton of ecological and ornamental value, the American holly is a prominent and beautiful part of the American winter landscape, loved far and wide for her striking appearance and adaptable nature.

Courtesy of Sophia Thomas and Mason Broderick

 

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Winter Plants that Are for the Birds...

Beyond the gorgeous berries of the American holly, there are tons of beautiful shrubs with persistent berries that will help feed the birds through frigid winter temps and through snow and ice. Normally when something's for the birds, it's less than ideal, but these plants benefit birds in more ways than you can count!

Red berries of Ilex verticillata 'Winter Red,' a winterberry holly.

Although we focused on American hollies in our other article, there are two other holly relatives that have lots of ornamental value and provide food to all sorts of birds through the colder months of the year. First, we have the all-time classic showy berry shrub, the winterberry holly, Ilex verticillata. You may recognize this holly from cut flower arrangements, since this shrub loses its leaves in the autumn, but keeps its showy red (or occasionally orange or golden-yellow) berries well into mid-winter. These berries are eye-catching in the winter landscape, and act as an important winter food source for hungry birds in the backyard landscape.

The inky black berries of Ilex glabra, an inkberry holly.

And beyond the aesthetic appeal of American and winterberry hollies, we also have the downplayed natural beauty of the inkberry holly. Though this evergreen shrub doesn’t have the glossy red fruits of its relatives, its natural hardiness as a Maryland native can’t be overstated, and its inky black berries are just as important a food source to a variety of Maryland birds, including wild turkeys and bobwhite quail!

The waxy silver berries of Myrica cerifera (syn. Morella cerifera), also called southern waxmyrtle or bayberry.

And, if you’re looking for something beyond the holly family, southern waxmyrtle, Morella or Myrica cerifera, is an excellent choice! Also called southern bayberry and candleberry, this evergreen shrub can get quite big, and all of its tissues, including branches, leaves, and berries, are wonderfully fragrant, with an aroma similar to juniper or bayleaf. This shrub’s waxy, silvery-gray berries are hard and dense, and are coated with a thick layer of natural wax, allowing them to stand up to super low temperatures and still provide starving birds with high caloric density.

There are lots of options to support birds in your backyard AND have good off-season visual appeal, even when snow and ice are keeping everyone (but the birds) indoors.

 Mason Broderick, Nursery Sales Associate

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