Winterberry vs Falsebox - TreeTime.ca

Winterberry vs Falsebox

Paxistima myrsinites

Ilex verticillata

CUSTOM GROW

CUSTOM GROW

Falsebox
Winterberry

Falsebox is a hardy, native evergreen shrub found in forests, rocky slopes, and open woodland sites. Though small and easily overlooked among the leaves, the maroon flowers still supply nectar and pollen for pollinators such as native bees and flies. Blooming in spring, they provide an important early-season food source. Its year-round greenery adds visual interest through the winter.

Falsebox is a low-growing shrub that tolerates a wide range of conditions, including drought once established. It thrives particularly well beneath the shade of mature trees, where few other plants succeed. With its resilience and ecological value, Falsebox is well-suited for naturalization, restoration projects, and diverse landscape plantings.

Winterberry is a small shrub that produces large quantities of bright red berries that remain on the plant through the fall and into the winter. Adding this shrub to your yard will give it a unique splash of color and attract birds, especially after the leaves drop.

Note: although the foliage is attractive on its own, you need at least one male plant near your female plants or they won't produce berries.

Falsebox Quick Facts

Winterberry Quick Facts

Zone: 5a
Zone: 3a
Height: 0.5 m (1.5 ft)
Height: 3 m (10 ft)
Spread: 0.5 m (1.5 ft)
Spread: 1.8 m (6 ft)
Light: any
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: dry, normal
Moisture: normal, wet
Growth rate: slow
Growth rate: slow
Life span: medium
Life span: medium
Growth form: prostrate to spreading
Spreading: layering - medium
Suckering: medium


Foliage: evergreen, leathery leaves
Foliage: yellow-green
Fall colour: bright orange to red
Bark: reddish-brown
Flowers: small, maroon-purple, fragrant
Bloom time: summer
Berries: bright red, stays through winter
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, BC
Native to: ON, QC, NS, NB, NL, PE
Other Names: false box, mountain boxwood, mountain lover, myrtle boxwood, oregon boxleaf, oregon boxwood
Other Names: black alder, canada holly, coralberry, fever bush, michigan holly, winterberry holly