Help identifying a winterberry - Ask Extension
Hi--I have a single winterberry and would like to find a pollinator for it. However, I don't know what variety it is. Would you be able to identify it...
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Help identifying a winterberry #887604
Asked October 09, 2024, 9:16 PM EDT
Hi--I have a single winterberry and would like to find a pollinator for it. However, I don't know what variety it is. Would you be able to identify it by photos? P.S. It has berries so maybe it was pollinated at the nursery before I planted it? I only have the one winterberry on my property.
Queen Anne's County Maryland
Expert Response
How long have you had your winterberry?
Do you, perchance, still have the plant tag?
If it was just planted this year, it most likely bloomed and was pollinated at the nursery in early to mid-summer, and you would have seen the small green berries. If that is the case, your best bet is to contact the nursery and see what varieties they sell. (Some big box stores may only bring in and sell females as they are gorgeous in berry and a quick sell.)
To get a good berry set you have to have an appropriate male variety nearby that blooms at the same time as the one you have.
If your bush has been in your yard for more than a season, it was pollinated in your yard when it bloomed in early/mid-summer, and there must be a male somewhere within the vicinity.
It's not easy to tell what variety you have other than keeping an eye on the timing of the blooms opening and then going to a nearby nursery to find one that is also blooming then.
(When berries are not evident, it's even more difficult to know if you are getting a male or female, which is judged by looking very carefully at the flowers when in bloom.)
Christine
Do you, perchance, still have the plant tag?
If it was just planted this year, it most likely bloomed and was pollinated at the nursery in early to mid-summer, and you would have seen the small green berries. If that is the case, your best bet is to contact the nursery and see what varieties they sell. (Some big box stores may only bring in and sell females as they are gorgeous in berry and a quick sell.)
To get a good berry set you have to have an appropriate male variety nearby that blooms at the same time as the one you have.
If your bush has been in your yard for more than a season, it was pollinated in your yard when it bloomed in early/mid-summer, and there must be a male somewhere within the vicinity.
It's not easy to tell what variety you have other than keeping an eye on the timing of the blooms opening and then going to a nearby nursery to find one that is also blooming then.
(When berries are not evident, it's even more difficult to know if you are getting a male or female, which is judged by looking very carefully at the flowers when in bloom.)
Christine
