Winterberry Holly, Black Alder 'Skipjack'

'Skipjack' Winterberry Holly is a male plant necessary for pollination of all the wonderful fruiting female plants that have overlapping ...Read Morebloom time. These include the earlier blooming group of female clones like 'Afterglow', 'Aurantiaca', 'Chrysocarpa', 'Red Sprite', and 'Stoplight' among many others. This early and heavy blooming plant was selected and introduced by Bill Kuhl, the extraordinary nurseryman and holly enthusiast from the Baltimore MD area.

One can determine the sex of a Winterberry Holly when it is in bloom (if it is not known whether the plant fruits or not) by examining the small flowers. If the flowers have projecting stamens, it is a male plant. If the flowers only have a rounded bump in the center, then it is a female plant.

'Skipjack' requires no more effort to grow than any other Winterberry Holly, looking only for regular moisture (loves wet sites, like by a downspout) and soil on the acid side, though I have grown all ranges of deciduous hollies in KY on circumneutral clay loam soils.