Side Garden Contenders, zone 5b

Rushes look cute and easy

People often think of rushes (Juncaceae), sedges (family Cyperaceae), and grasses (Poaceae) as a single, confusing graminoid (grasslike) group. To help you remember, here’s one version of the famous rhyme: “Sedges have edges / Rushes are round / Grasses are hollow with nodes — Which have you found?”

Size

Height: some species can be over 4 feet tall; most are shorter.

Ilex verticillata

Common Name(s):

• Common Winterberry

• Winterberry

• Winterberry Holly

• Grows to 3-15 feet tall, depending on the variety.

• Suitable in USDA  Zones 3-9.

• Densely branched, twiggy.

• Sports berries from September til mid-winter or later (‘Winter Red’ reportedly keeps its berries til March-April.)

• Inconspicuous white flowers in spring.

• Native to wetlands in most of Eastern U.S. (From Nova Scotia to Florida and west to Missouri.)

• For good berrying, need one male per 3-5 females.

• Performs best in full sun.  But Gene says:  “Like most hollies, the winterberry is very tolerant of shade and they will do very well in 1/2 day shade.”

• Prefers acidic soil but tolerates ordinary pH ranges.

• Attract songbirds

did it link to PDF? (2025 trees shrubs at Russells; while the link did not indicate, I see after the fact that a PDF is linked.