Inkberry is one of the best evergreen shrubs out there for creating a hedge, and it's an excellent alternative to the nonnative boxwood.
Its greenish-white flowers emerge in spring and pull in butterflies, beetles, native bees and other pollinators.
The straight species has Very High pollinator values; the cultivars differ only in that Inkberry's 'Compacta' and male varieties are shorter and more compact.
Flowers on the female bushes, if pollinated, give way to berries that ripen to black in the fall and are an important late-season food source for birds. The highly rated Gallberry Honey comes from bees feeding on inkberry blooms.
Inkberry prefers moist soil and makes an excellent addition to a rain garden. It also is highly adaptable to drier soils.
Fun Fact: Native Americans used dried and roasted inkberry leaves to brew a black tea-like drink, lending to Inkberry the common name of Appalachian tea.
Inkberry 'Compacta' and male varieties
- Latin: Ilex glabra 'Compacta' (female) or male variety
- Mature height: 3-4', 4-6' wide
- Light: full sun to part shade
- Soil: wet to moderately dry and sandy; well-drained
- Fruit: Purple in fall turning black (females, male needed for fruit set)
- Leaf: Evergreen, shiny, deep green
- Resistance: Wet, shade, deer, rabbit
- Ilex glabra native range here