Sparkleberry Holly
Ilex x ‘Sparkleberry’
This is an interesting deciduous Holly that I have been growing for several years. I always thought it was a cultivar of Winterberry Holly but after looking it up I found out that it is a cross between Finetooth Holly (Ilex serrata) and our native Winterberry or Black Alder (Ilex verticillata). According to my research ‘Sparkleberry’ was the result of a controlled cross between the two plants in 1961 by William Kosar. It came out of the National Arboretum’s plant breeding program with the desire to have the I. serrata’s heavy fruiting characteristics and the adaptability and larger berry size of the Winterberry. From my point of view they were extremely successful.
I have my plants on the edge of the woodland in full sun. They can also tolerate part sun and very wet sites. Although you will get more berries when they are planted in full sun. I don’t have the male pollinator ‘Apollo’ that was developed at the same time. I do have several other male winterberries and have not had a problem with getting fruit on my ‘Sparkleberry’. It just requires a male of either species. These shrubs do get up to about 12 feet tall with a fairly large spread so they need a little room. I prune mine lightly whenever they need it to maintain a nice shape but basically they are very low maintenance. They are hardy to UDSA Zone 5b.
Since when I featured the ‘Little Boo’ white pumpkins on Wordless Wednesday a lot of people wrote that they had never seen a white pumpkin before I thought I would post this image of a full sized one. I took it at the same time as the other picture. I don’t know what variety this is but it much more like a normal sized pumpkin than the ‘Little Boo’, which you can see in the left side of the picture.
8 comments:
Beautiful berries. It is so interesting to read how certain plants came to be. I love the white pumpkin.
Hi there! Thanks so much for popping by my blog and your kind words. I'm sorry I haven't been keeping it up as well as I used to. I should work on that! I love your photos here, and I love your pink flower from behind. There is something just as wonderous about a flower from behind as it is from the front. I'm sure I'll be popping back here. Thanks again, Wendy
Your photos are just stunning! Makes me miss my old garden. Now I can stop by your blog and get my 'beauty fix.'
Thanks! :0) Mel
You just made me realize that I didn't buy anything this year that fruits in the fall and provides interest. Oh well maybe next year.
thanks for the holly info. I am guessing that other white pumpkin is a Lumina.
We grew (or tried to grow) Luminas and the Little Boo pumpkins. Only got 3 Luminas and 2 little boo pumpkins, not a bumper crop.
I carved a white jack o lantern this year for the first time and the contrast of the orange pulp was striking. The holly photo is a beautiful red and seems very winter like. It hasn't started raining yet in Northern Cal and it's been in the high 70s. Any day now that will end. BTW My pumpkin was a fairytale pumpkin. That was the name.
cool
vanilla, I got over to your blog yesterday. I am going to keep my eye on seedlings. I am going to need some flowers this winter.
Wendy, I really enjoyed your site, your 'Study' posts are wonderful. Anybody who likes flowers should take a look.
Hi Melissa, thanks for visiting.
There is always next year Mr. Brown Thumb. The berries on 'Sparkleberry' are persistent, until the birds get them. Try some Possumhaw ('Warren's Red') for something that grows a little smaller.
Hi Princess, I hadn't thought of what a White Pumpkin looks like inside. Thanks for the info.
mumm, I agree hardly a bumper crop but at least you got a couple, which is always better than a total crop failure. Thanks for the variety name. I looked it up and I think it is correct.
kmf, thanks for stopping by again. I love that picture on your avatar.
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