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Mountain holly

Ilex montana

Also called Mountain Winterberry

Mountain holly
Photo: Alex Abair, CC BY 4.0

Ilex montana, the mountain winterberry, is a deciduous shrub or small tree native to the Appalachian Mountains of the eastern United States. It is grown for its bright red berries, which persist into winter, and it needs a cool, moist, acidic site with some shelter.

Family
Aquifoliaceae (Aquifoli family)
Grows as
Tree, Shrub
Light
Part shade, Full sun
Water
Keep the soil evenly moist, especially in the first years, and avoid drying out.
Soil
Moist, well-drained, acidic, humus-rich soil.
Temperature
Hardy to about -25 °C; prefers cool summers, and should be protected from hot, dry sites.
How easy
Moderate
Native range
E. U.S.A.
Climate
temperate

About

Ilex montana, the mountain winterberry (or "mountain holly" which is more typically Ilex mucronata), is a species of holly native to the Eastern United States, ranging along the Appalachian Mountains from southeast Massachusetts to northeast Alabama and northern Georgia. Synonyms include Ilex monticola.

Other Ilex plants

Ilex abscondita · Ilex acutidenticulata · Ilex affinis · Ilex altiplana · Carolina holly · Sarvis holly · Ilex amygdalina · Ilex andicola · Hawai'i holly · Ilex anonoides · English holly · Ilex aracamuniana

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Ilex montana by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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