Choose holly by the job: a spiny evergreen with berries, a boxwood-like Japanese holly, a wet-site inkberry, winterberry, or yaupon.
Choose evergreen berry holly, Japanese holly, inkberry, or winterberry
| Factor | Recommended | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Spiny evergreen fruit | American, blue, Chinese, or English holly | Buying Japanese holly for Christmas berries |
| Boxwood stand-in | Japanese holly or inkberry | A 40-foot American holly in a foundation strip |
| Wet acid | Inkberry, dahoon, or winterberry | English holly in a bog |
| Bare-stem winter fruit | Winterberry or possumhaw | Expecting those berries on an evergreen screen |
Know your USDA hardiness zone before you pick a type of ilex that will take your winter. Type your ZIP below.
2023 USDA ZIP listings (PRISM / USDA-ARS). Find Your USDA Hardiness Zone · Official USDA map.
Read the Latin. Size on the nursery pot is not the mature size. A Sky Pencil in a 3-gallon pot is still a column, not a 40-foot American holly. [1] [2] Yaupon is the heat-and-wind native with small red berries — still holly, not English Christmas foliage. Inkberry is the wet evergreen with black fruit; winterberry drops its leaves so the berries show. Sun and acid drain stay on How to Grow Holly. If you want berries on bare winter stems, that is winterberry, not a Japanese hedge.
What is the difference between winterberry and holly?
Winterberry is a holly — Ilex verticillata. It drops its leaves. Evergreen hollies keep theirs.
Browse by kind
Evergreen berry hollies
American holly is the native Christmas tree holly. Blue holly, Chinese holly, and English holly sit here too — spiny leaves and red fruit when a male is nearby.
Japanese holly
Sky Pencil is a tight column of small spineless leaves. Japanese holly is the boxwood stand-in, not a berry show.
Inkberry and dahoon
Shamrock is inkberry for wet acid ground. Dahoon is the wet evergreen with red fruit. Neither is winterberry.
Winterberry and possumhaw
winterberry drops its leaves so the berries show. Possumhaw does the same job as a small tree. Wet-acid siting is on How to Grow Winterberry.
Yaupon
yaupon takes heat and wind better than English holly. A weeping form is in this group too.
Pick the group, then the cultivar. Extra shop names are not extra kinds. Nellie R. Stevens is a common hybrid not in this catalog; treat it as an evergreen berry holly if you grow one. [3] [4] Possumhaw is the deciduous small tree in this list; it is not a winterberry cultivar.
Is Japanese holly a boxwood?
No. It can replace boxwood in a hedge. The Latin is Ilex crenata, not Buxus.
If the tag says only holly, read the Latin before you buy — Japanese holly is not winterberry.
FAQ
Is Nellie R. Stevens in this list?
No. That hybrid is a common nursery holly but not a card here. Treat it as an evergreen berry holly if you grow one.
Is Blue Prince a kind we list?
No. Blue Princess is here; Blue Prince is the usual male partner and is not a card. Castle Wall is the male we list for Castle Spire.
Is Sky Pencil a separate species?
Sky Pencil is Ilex crenata — Japanese holly, not a second genus.
Related guides
References
This note is part of Ilex Guides.
More type comparisons by plant are gathered in Types of Plants Guides.
Updated: Reviewed by Bosquelle Editors