Native Plants

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Tuesday - February 24, 2009

From: Owings, MD
Region: Mid-Atlantic
Topic: Seed and Plant Sources
Title: Where can I find Ilex verticillata in Maryland?
Answered by: Jimmy Mills

QUESTION:

Do you have any suggestions where I might purchase a winterberry holly, ilex verticillata (with bright orange berries in the winter)? They are on our Maryland State highway on Route 3 (301) heading to Baltimore and are very beautiful.

ANSWER:

The Winterberry Ilex verticillata (common winterberry) certainly brightens up the winter with its bright orange berries. I am going to tell you how I was able to find three suppliers of Winterberry plants in your area.

On our web page go to the "Explore Plants" menu and click on "Suppliers". This will take you to our National Suppliers Directory. Type in your city and state (or just Maryland) in the approproate box and you will get a list of nurseries in Maryland and adjacent states. By clicking on the name of the nursery, you will pull up the nursery's web page where you can find lots of information including lists of the plants that they carry.

I did this and found three nursieries that sell Ilex verticillata. They are, from fartherest to nearest:

Clear Ridge Nursery in Union Bridge, MD

Nature by Design in Alexandria, VA

Lower Marlboro Nursery in Dunkirk which seems to be just down the road from you.

We would encourage you to also contact the Maryland Native Plant Society which is always a good source of information about plants.