Ilex serrata x vertillatica 'Sparkleberry' Winterberry (Female)
Height: 6.00 to 10.00 feet
Spread: 6.00 to 10.00 feet
Bloom Time: May to June
Bloom Description: Greenish-white
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Medium to wet
Leaf: Good Fall
Attracts: Birds
Fruit: Showy
'Sparkleberry’ is a deciduous hybrid female winterberry that typically matures to 6-10’ tall and as wide. It is noted for its dense, heavy fruiting of bright red berries, with good retention of the fruit throughout winter. This is a slow-growing, deciduous, multi-stemmed, suckering shrub with an upright-rounded habit. Lustrous dark green leaves (to 3” long) turn yellow-bronze in fall. Flowers, if properly pollinated, give way to a profuse crop of glossy red berries (5/16” diameter) in fall. Showy berries will persist throughout the winter (hence the common name) and often to early spring. Berries provide considerable impact and interest to the winter landscape. Berries are a food source for birds. Male clone is 'Apollo'.