Possumhaw holly is berry beautiful in winter

January 26, 2014


The possumhaws (love that name!) were in fine form at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center yesterday.


Wowza! Bright red berries against the olive green of live oaks and juniper and a scrubbed, blue sky. 65 degrees. This is what winter should always be.

All material © 2006-2014 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

22 responses to “Possumhaw holly is berry beautiful in winter”

  1. Indie says:

    Oh so pretty! I love the deciduous hollies with their beautiful berries! The berries on my winterberry hollies lasted for quite awhile – the birds finally found them though. I wonder if they have to go through several freezing and thawing cycles before they get soft enough for the birds or have to get more ripe or something?

    • Pam/Digging says:

      Good question, Indie. My American beautyberry berries get devoured right away in the fall, for example. But the possumhaw berries last until late winter, when flocks of robins or cedar waxwings find them. —Pam

  2. Lisa at Greenbow says:

    Lucky you having such a beautiful winter. I am not complaining today though. It got up to 52F. Feels wonderfu. Almost can’t tell it got so warm because the wind is whipping at 20mph +. Still the sun is shining. Feels wonderful.

    • Pam/Digging says:

      Well, the reason I say this is what winter should be is because this has been a cold winter for us. Which is to say, we’ve had a number of hard freezes in-between our 65-degree days. 😉 —Pam

  3. ricki says:

    Charming common name, but what is the botanical name for that berry factory? I think I need one.

    • Pam/Digging says:

      Sorry I didn’t include the botanical name in this post, though it’s in the “Plant This” post I linked to (click the link for lots more info and images, if you’re interested). It’s Ilex decidua, and grows well throughout the southern U.S. —Pam

  4. Anna says:

    Yes, it really brings a bright color to the garden. I had three in my garden before I moved, and was surprised by how slow it grew.

    • Pam/Digging says:

      Is that right? I have one that’s about 2 years old in my garden. I’m hoping for good growth this spring — 3 years to leap, and all that. We’ll see! —Pam

  5. Tiffany Drewa says:

    Just gorgeous. Can’t wait for ours to grow bigger.

  6. commonweeder says:

    Winter here is looking very different with sub zero temperatures, but it has been a great berry year with our hollies, virburnams and grapes. I hope it helps the birds.

    • Pam/Digging says:

      Berries against the snow are lovely too. We rarely see that kind of winter beauty here, but I admire it on your and other cold-climate gardening blogs, Commonweeder. —Pam

  7. Jenny says:

    Beautiful! I picture this cut and in a big vase inside. It’s not the first time I’ve seen photos of this. I’d love to find some.

  8. I know the possumhaw you photographed by the metal building…incredible. Reminds me of an allee of them at college, where we walked to our design studios most days. Winter – ha!

    • Pam/Digging says:

      Local gardening personality Tom Spencer had at his former home a secret garden walled with possumhaws. He called it Possumhaw Hollow. I thought it was a fun idea. —Pam

  9. Gail says:

    Beautiful against that steel!

  10. I love my possumhaws. It is my favorite small native tree. Regarding the speed of growth, in my experience, the root suckers always out grow the original plant. This happened with four of my plants and I ended up pruning out the original trunks.

  11. Eleanor says:

    Mine leaped third year and really put on some growth. It’s finally starting to have more than a few berries too. Lovely small tree.