The garden’s Sparkleberry hollies (Ilex verticillata ‘Sparkleberry’) need a friend. Or, at least a nearby pollinator so that pollen is passed between male and females so there will be more berries. I think that at one point I planted a male holly in the vicinity, but that was long ago, and the details are fuzzy,…
Tag: sparkleberry
Berries in early autumn
Through spring and summer the foliage and flowers of beautyberry (Callicarpa dichotoma ‘Issai’, below) are unremarkable. The dull green leaves are carried on arching stems that are hardly graceful, and even when fully in flower the ornamental value of beautyberry is forgettable. But, in late summer the tiny blooms fade and small berries appear, which progressively…
Sparkleberry, or no sparkle berries?
The Sparkleberry hollies (Ilex serrata x verticillata ‘Sparkleberry’, below) are bare. The leaves are supposed to be gone by now, but in most years the branches are cloaked with an abundance of red berries. Not this year. I blame environmental factors, though I’m guessing and really haven’t a clue why the berries are missing. The…
Ramblin' through Dave's Garden 