|
| Hello. I am planning two winterberry (Ilex verticillata) shrubs in front of my house and would like input on whether Sparkleberry or Winter Red are more highly recommended by you, and why. Also, I am planning on using either Apollo or Southern Gentleman as the pollinator. Any thoughts on which?
Finally, how close would the pollinator have to be to the ladies to do his job? |
Follow-Up Postings:
|
| I would choose Winter Red. There is no comparison between quality of berries between the two. Sparkleberry blanches on the side facing the sun pretty soon after maturity. WR remains in great condition all winter. Southern Gentleman is the recommended pollinator for WR. They can pollinate without being in sight of one another, so maybe choose an out of the way spot. |
|
| Your experience in zone 5 is likely to be very different from that of the poster in zone 8. |
|
- Posted by viburnumvalley z5/6 KY (My Page) on Sat, Nov 14, 09 at 13:43
| As noted above, 'Southern Gentleman' is the appropriate suitor for 'Winter Red' (both southern forms of Ilex verticillata that bloom later than the northern forms). 'Apollo' is the selected male for 'Sparkleberry' (which are hybrids of Ilex serrata crossed with Ilex verticillata). You may be interested to know that Longwood Gardens (near Philadelphia) performed and published a long term comparison trial of many selections of winterberries. They rated 'Sparkleberry' number one, with 'Winter Red' right up there in the top five. I like both plants. 'Winter Red' certainly has longer persistence through the winter. 'Sparkleberry' drops its leaves earlier in fall, showing off the fruit much sooner than others. 'Winter Red' is still holding green leaves here NOW. Overall, I'd nod to 'Winter Red', but you ought to perform a bit more research yourself with images and looking for landscape examples in Toronto. I'd imagine that it gets a bit of use there. |
|
| Thanks all for the input...I am sure it is around but surprisingly I have not seen any, anywhere in Toronto. |
|
| I like my Winter Red too. Winter Red is considered the top performer among Winterberries. I get golden leaves in the fall which are set against spreading clusters of bright red fruit. My shrub dropped it's leaves about (2) weeks ago ... and its been the star of the landscape ever since. The berries usually last until around February, when they finally get soft enough for the birds to eat. Once the birds decide they can eat the berries, they'll be gone in a day. I will admit that I've lusted after Sparkleberry, ... but I'm afraid that it may grow too large for me. If you can't find Winterberry at a nearby nursery, you can probably get a nice set (male and female) at Song Sparrow Nursery online. I've gotten some nice selections from them in the past. One other point ... Winterberry is a slow grower, ... so try to find the largest plants you can. |
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Shrubs Forum
Instructions
- You must be a registered member and logged in to post messages on our forums.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review the contents and make changes.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- It is illegal to post copyrighted material without the owner's consent.
- HTML codes are allowed in the message field only.
- No advertising is allowed in any of the forums.
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.