Plant of the Month – December
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Holly-leaf Redberry maintains a tidy, compact shape in full sun, but becomes more open and tree-like in shade. Either way, it grows happily with very little added water, maintaining lush, dark green leaves all year. Female plants produce red berries that birds can’t resist.
Holly-leaf Redberry
Rhamnus ilicifolia
- Plant Form: Evergreen Shrub
- Water Use: Very Low
- Mature Size: 3-9 ft. tall and wide
- Exposure: Full Sun, Part Sun
- Bloom Time: Spring (Mar-May), Summer (June)
- Native to: California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Baja California (500 – 6,600 feet elevation)
- Hardiness: Cold hardy to 0°F
Holly-leaf Redberry is a handsome, mounding, evergreen shrub with dark-green, glossy, holly-like leaves. Tiny yellowish flowers are inconspicuous, but female flowers produce bright red berries relished by birds and small mammals. Male and female flowers grow on separate plants, so male plants will not produce berries. Redberry loves dry, rocky slopes, but prefers part shade in the drier parts of its range. Plants growing in full sun maintain a dense form, while plants in shade are usually more open and tree-like. This tidy, moderately slow-growing plant needs very little water or care. It can tolerate some summer water up to once a month, but usually prefers no supplemental irrigation after becoming established. Its small red berries are colorful in summer, and its shiny foliage is attractive all year. Holly-leaf Redberry performs well as an ornamental plant on dry banks, as an informal screen or low hedge in hot, sunny areas, or as an accent anywhere.
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