The #1 Shrub to Plant This Fall for Beautiful Winter Color
Just because the boom months of garden growing season are over, it doesn’t mean there aren’t trees, bushes, and flowers you should plant in the fall for a little prolonged beauty. With the right coordination, you can elevate your yard’s color beyond brown before spring is even close to starting. This includes winterberry holly, which gardening experts say is pretty much the perfect shrub to plant in the fall to ensure a pop of winter color.
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What is winterberry holly?
Winterberry holly shrubs (also known as Ilex verticillata, or even more familiarly by its cheeky nickname, “Berry Poppins”) are a hearty bush that sprouts green leaves throughout the warmer months alongside brilliantly red berries, per Midwest Living.
Once fall rolls around, the shrub begins to shed its glossy green leaves. As its name suggests, this means that by the time winter is in full swing, the bush’s branches are covered in striking scarlet clusters that stand out beautifully against dormant plants—and especially alongside fresh snowfall.
Why does the winterberry holly work well for winter color?
Gardeners who take their design plans very seriously will likely find something to appreciate about this plant. In a recent TikTok post, landscaping influencer @GardenCrossings says that winterberry holly is a great way to plan ahead for winter and beyond.
“[These are] excellent for winter interest in your landscape,” they say. “But I also like to use these as cut flowers in my winter porch pots.”
Because the plant is native to North America, it’s also particularly well-suited for a wide range of conditions. Not only can it handle different soil types (including very moist or wet ground), but it’s also well adapted to most climates, especially zones 3 through 9, according to Midwest Living.
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What’s the best way to plant winterberry holly?
Beyond being a hearty shrub well-suited for most areas in the U.S., winterberry holly bushes are versatile in other ways. They work well as individual focal points as they do in clusters or groups. And with most bushes growing up to about four feet tall, they also can work well as privacy screens that flesh out with foliage in the warmer months.
However, there are still a few things to consider before getting your shrubs into the ground. As berry-bearing plants are females, they require a male pollinator plant to produce the colorful fruit you’re looking for, according to the gardening site Proven Winners.
And it’s not just limited to Berry Poppins, either. You can also opt for “Berry Heavy” (which even has a golden berry variety), “Winter Red,” “Red Sprite,” and “Blue Princess Holly,” the last of which holds onto its sturdy evergreen leaves all winter long.