Ilex glabra
Growing Information
• Plant Type: Shrub
• Sunlight: Sun, part shade
• Soils: Moist to Average
• Bloom Time: May, June – flowers called cymes are inconspicuous
• Size: 3-8 feet tall, 3-6 foot spread, depending on cultivar
As like other hollies, Inkberry is dioecious: need male pollinator plant to get female fruit set. Berry-like drupes are black and the size of a pea. It’s an upright grower that works well in a hedge and can be pruned. A good native option to boxwood. It is a broadleaf evergreen that is a slow grower.
Garden Companions
Teaberry (Gaultheria procumbens)
Nature Benefits
• Birds and mammals eat the juicy fruit
• Provides nectar for pollinators.
• Host plant for Henry’s Elfin.
Native Habitat
Occurs in low wet woods, sandy sites, edges and openings in forests.