Ilex verticillata Maryland Beauty

Ilex verticillata 'Maryland Beauty' is a female variety of whorled holly selected for its abundant berries which are particularly decorative until late winter on its bare branches. Native to Canada and the northeastern U.S.A, it is a perfectly hardy holly whose leaves, unlike those of the common holly we all know, are not prickly and fall off in autumn. Ornamental almost all year round, it will find its place in a natural style garden, in hedging, but also in very wet areas and on the banks of watercourses. This female variety will be pollinated by a male plant ('Southern Gentleman') to obtain abundant and decorative berries.

Hollies belong to the Aquifoliaceae family. Ilex verticillata is a suckering and very common shrub, loving acidic soils and cool wet areas, but also adapts to open spaces like meadows or occasionally drier soils of dunes. It is found in a large part of the North American territory. It is quite polymorphous, adapting to its habitat, and can have the appearance of a large spreading bush 5 m tall and 6 m wide, or the more modest habit of a narrow shrub not exceeding 2 m in height. This species is dioecious, meaning that there are separate male and female plants.

'Maryland Beauty' is a very floriferous female variety, with a compact, bushy habit, reaching about 2 m in height and 1.75 m in width. The foliage, deciduous in winter, is composed of obovate or lanceolate leaves, long and tapering, measuring from 3 to 9 cm with serrated edges. The spring shoots turn purple. Mature leaves are bright green and shiny on the upper side, lighter and velvety on the underside. The autumn colours, in shades of yellow-orange with bronze or purple hues, are beautiful. Flowering occurs in spring, in the form of small white flowers not exceeding 5 mm in diameter. When pollination occurs, the female flowers transform into small globular and shiny fruits, dark red to scarlet in colour, gathered in small clusters. They are a delight for birds in winter.

Ilex verticillata 'Maryland Beauty' will please amateur gardeners who appreciate hardy, colourful, and unfussy shrubs. It has the advantage of bringing fabulous colours to the garden, especially in winter when its branches are covered with bright red berries and almost appear to be in bloom. It is perfect in a mixed hedge, alongside Elaeagnus Zempin, coyote willow (Salix exigua), Cotoneaster lacteus, deciduous euonymus, or elderberries. It mainly dislikes limestone, which causes its beautiful foliage to turn yellow, and prefers moist to wet soils.  Hardy well beyond -15°C, it particularly loves to be near watercourses and waterlogged areas. Some gardeners prune it into the shape of a small fir tree; the sight of these small red trees in winter is quite stunning. Plant it in groups in our cold regions, alongside hawthorn, snowberry, pyracanthas with yellow or orange berries, and other evergreen hollies.