How tall does inkberry get?

Ilex glabra, commonly called inkberry or gallberry, is a slow-growing, upright-rounded, stoloniferous, broadleaf evergreen shrub in the holly family. It typically matures to 5 to 10 feet tall, and can spread by root suckers to form colonies.

Does inkberry holly lose its leaves?

Inkberry holly varieties vary from thick 4 foot (1 m.) versions to the almost tree-like 8 foot (2 m.) tall giants. As the plant grows, the bottom branches tend to lose their leaves, giving the bottom of the plant a bare look.

What does inkberry look like?

Inkberry has glossy dark green oval-shaped leaves; greenish-white flowers appear in May and June, giving way to pea-sized black fruits that mature by early fall.

Does inkberry make a good hedge?

When properly pruned, inkberry can make a nice foundation plant or short hedge, but is best used in native screens and rain gardens, where it can be left to grow naturally with little intervention needed from the gardener. Young plants are perfectly round, with leaves right to the ground.

How can I tell if my inkberry is male or female?

Male flowers appear in clusters. Female flowers are single. You do need a female plant in order to get berries so if you want an Ilex glabra (inkberry) with berries, you might look for a ‘Compacta’ cultivar.

Are inkberry bushes poisonous?

Inkberry plants are not poisonous themselves, but the fruit (berries) are toxic to people and animals. In addition, the leaves of the inkberry plant have sharp enough spines to do damage to your dog’s mouth, throat, airway, and intestinal tract.

Is inkberry holly poisonous?

How do you prune inkberry?

When it comes time to prune the Inkberry, DO NOT use a hedge trimmer. When a hedge trimmer is used, the top of the shrub grows the thickest and it gets very leggy at the base. Instead, prune by hand and cut the stems at varying lengths deep inside the shrub to encourage full growth throughout the shrub.

Are inkberry and winterberry the same?

As nouns the difference between inkberry and winterberry is that inkberry is any of various plants that bear dark berries, or the berries themselves: while winterberry is a species of holly native to the united states and canada and producing red berries, ilex verticillata .

When should I cut back my inkberry?

The best time to ‘rejuvenate prune’ your Inkberry is in spring when the plant’s growth process is revving up. Cut the shrub back by 1/2, loosen the soil around the base of the plant and fertilize with Holly-tone® organic, slow-release fertilizer.

Do deer eat inkberry bushes?

Inkberry (Ilex glabra) Here’s a native evergreen species that won’t attract deer (but will be enjoyed by songbirds). The holly species has dark green and glossy leaves, and produces a small black fruit. It does best in full sun, along with acidic soil that remains moist.

Is densa inkberry male?

‘Densa’ is a female variety though fruit set will be sparse without a male or, perhaps, a different variety of inkberry in the vicinity to provide pollen. Though the flowers are not showy, they are an important nectar source for honeybees and native bees.