Possumhaw

Sun

Full sun to partial shade; flowering and berry production are usually best in full sun.

Water

Moderate; keep evenly moist while establishing. Established plants tolerate seasonal flooding and some drought.

Soil

Adaptable to clay, loam and sandy soils, including periodically wet ground; prefers moist, slightly acidic soil but tolerates some alkalinity.

Height

15-30 ft (4.6-9.1 m)

Spread

10-20 ft (3-6.1 m)

Flowers

Small, inconspicuous greenish-white flowers in spring, as or after the leaves emerge.

Foliage

Small, glossy green leaves with finely toothed edges, often widest above the middle; autumn colour is usually yellow-green to yellow.

Growth

Moderate.

Care needed

Low

• Pollinators
• Drought tolerant
• Heat tolerant
• Wildlife
• Low allergen

Northern hemisphere months. In Australia, shift them by six.

Difficulty

Easy

Toughness

Very tough

Pick your zone, country, light and whether you have pets.

1. Planting day

   2.7 ft (0.82 m)

2. After 1 year

   7 ft (2 m)

3. After 2 years

   11 ft (3.2 m)

4. After 3 years

   15 ft (4.4 m)

5. After 5 years

   22 ft (6.9 m)

   full size

About 5 years to full size.

From a typical nursery size, at an average rate for this kind of plant. A rule of thumb, not a forecast.

Cats and dogs

Toxic

Native to

the US

Growth rate

Moderate

• Water deeply during dry spells for the first two growing seasons.
• Spread 2-3 in (5-8 cm) of organic mulch over the root area, keeping it clear of the stems.
• For berries, choose a known female plant and provide a male Ilex decidua with overlapping flowering within about 50 ft (15 m).
• Feed lightly in spring only if growth is weak or a soil test shows a nutrient shortage.
• Remove unwanted root suckers while small if you want a single specimen rather than a thicket.

Pruning. Prune in late winter before growth begins, removing dead, crossing or crowded branches and unwanted suckers. Train gradually as a small tree if desired, and avoid shearing, which spoils the branching and reduces flowering and fruiting.

Autumn

Plant while the soil is workable, water thoroughly and mulch the root area.

Winter

Leave berry-bearing branches intact for winter colour and feeding birds.

Late winter

Remove damaged or crowded branches and any unwanted suckers.

Spring

Check that male and female plants flower at the same time if berry production has been poor.

Late spring

Refresh mulch and inspect stems and leaves for scale insects or leaf spots.

Summer

Water young plants deeply during prolonged dry weather.

• Use a fruiting female as a winter focal point against dark evergreen shrubs.
• Plant in a mixed native hedge where its branching provides cover and its berries feed birds.
• Place beside a pond or in a rain garden with room for its mature spread.
• Train as a small multi-stemmed tree beside a lawn or broad path.

Garden styles it suits: Woodland, Wildlife garden, Winter interest, Southern, Native hedgerow and Low-maintenance.

Plant it with: Sweetspire, Buttonbush, Red chokeberry, Switchgrass, River birch and Bald cypress.

Wildlife: Flowers attract bees and other small pollinators. Birds eat the berries, often later in winter, and the dense branching provides shelter and nesting cover.

• Few or no berries: confirm that the plant is female and that a nearby male Ilex decidua flowers at the same time; increase sunlight if the site is heavily shaded.
• Scale insects: inspect twigs for fixed bumps and sticky honeydew; prune heavily infested shoots and use a labelled horticultural oil when appropriate.
• Leaf spots: collect fallen diseased leaves and thin crowded growth for airflow; minor spotting usually needs no chemical treatment.
• Yellow leaves with green veins: alkaline soil can limit iron availability; test the soil before treating and avoid repeated feeding without a diagnosis.

Not edible. The berries and leaves contain compounds that can cause vomiting, diarrhoea and abdominal discomfort in people, cats and dogs; berries are the main ingestion risk. Treat the plant as toxic to horses as well and keep prunings out of grazing areas. Most small accidental ingestions cause gastrointestinal illness, but seek medical or veterinary advice if any are eaten.

• Winterberry (Ilex verticillata)

  Also deciduous with red winter berries, but its leaves are usually broader, less glossy and more sharply toothed along most of the edge; possumhaw leaves are often widest near the tip.

• Yaupon holly (Ilex vomitoria)

  Has small, evergreen leaves with rounded teeth, so its winter berries normally remain among green foliage rather than on bare branches.

The species name decidua refers to its deciduous habit of shedding its leaves each year.

Propagation. Take semi-ripe cuttings in summer to preserve a named selection and its sex. Seed germination is slow and irregular, often requiring warm and cold periods over more than one season; seedlings will not reliably match the parent.

Accepted botanical name

Ilex decidua

In the US and Canada

Native in the lower 48 states.

Native range

Alabama, Arkansas, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland and Mexico Northeast.

Measured

Soil pH 3.5 to 6.5. Average height 495 cm.

Sources: GBIF (CC BY 4.0), USDA PLANTS and Trefle (CC BY 4.0). The care and design notes are LandscapeGPT's own.