About
Ilex verticillata 'Winter Gold' is a cultivar of winterberry (family Aquifoliaceae) prized for fruit that often remains on the stems into winter. It is a deciduous holly that bears small white flowers in April to May and then red drupes after the leaves fall. The species comes from eastern North America and naturally occurs in wetland habitats as well as drier sandy sites. Birds feed on the persistent berries through the cold months.
About the genus
Ilex or holly is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. Ilex has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergreen or deciduous trees, shrubs, and climbers from tropics to temperate zones worldwide.
Wikipedia contributors, "Holly", CC BY-SA 4.0 — Holly
In the garden
Ilex verticillata 'Winter Gold' is a cultivated form of the winterberry holly in the Aquifoliaceae. The plant is deciduous and produces small white flowers in April to May; fruit follows and frequently remains on the bare stems well into winter. The species is native to eastern North America and is recorded from wetland areas through to sandier, drier ground. Site choice should reflect the plant's tolerance for moisture: it is frequently found in damp or seasonally wet soils and can spread in persistently wet ground, whereas in drier, sandy soils it tends to hold a tighter form. Avoid asserting specific hardiness bands without local reference; instead, place specimens where the soil moisture suits their behaviour and allow space for a multi-stemmed habit if planting into wetter ground. Use Ilex verticillata 'Winter Gold' where late-season fruit and wildlife value are wanted — beside ponds, in native-plant borders or mixed hedging where winter food for birds is beneficial. The berries are an important food source for some bird species, including the American robin, and the retained red fruit provides clear winter interest on otherwise bare branches.
