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Inkberry 'Shamrock'

Ilex glabra 'Shamrock' · Aquifoliaceae

Inkberry 'Shamrock' (Ilex glabra 'Shamrock')
Photo: Photo by David J. Stang, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

A compact inkberry that stays dense and leafy to the ground, with bright green new growth.

Size
4 ft tall, 4 ft wide
Zones
4 to 10
Light
Full sun to part shade
Flowers
Grown for its leaves
Pets
Toxic (mild)
Job in a bed
Anchor

A bed built around inkberry 'Shamrock'

The planner designed this bed around inkberry 'Shamrock' when this page was made: a 16 × 8 ft (4.9 × 2.4 m) English border in zone 6, part sun. It chose the other plants from the 708 that suit those conditions, and says below why inkberry 'Shamrock' stands where it does.

A 16 × 8 ft (4.9 × 2.4 m) bed at eye level in late May: Inkberry 'Shamrock', Green-and-gold, Bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei', White mugwort, Siberian iris 'Caesar's Brother', Hairy alumroot 'Autumn Bride', Gray's sedge, Red spider lily, Grecian windflower.
A 16 × 8 ft (4.9 × 2.4 m) English border in zone 6, part sun, seen from the path in late May.
4. White mugwort44. White mugwort44. White mugwort41. Inkberry 'Shamrock'12. Green-and-gold22. Green-and-gold22. Green-and-gold23. Bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei'33. Bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei'33. Bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei'32. Green-and-gold22. Green-and-gold22. Green-and-gold22. Green-and-gold22. Green-and-gold23. Bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei'33. Bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei'33. Bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei'33. Bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei'33. Bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei'35. Siberian iris 'Caesar's Brother'55. Siberian iris 'Caesar's Brother'55. Siberian iris 'Caesar's Brother'54. White mugwort42. Green-and-gold22. Green-and-gold22. Green-and-gold23. Bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei'33. Bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei'33. Bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei'37. Gray's sedge77. Gray's sedge77. Gray's sedge76. Hairy alumroot 'Autumn Bride'66. Hairy alumroot 'Autumn Bride'66. Hairy alumroot 'Autumn Bride'62. Green-and-gold22. Green-and-gold22. Green-and-gold22. Green-and-gold22. Green-and-gold22. Green-and-gold22. Green-and-gold22. Green-and-gold22. Green-and-gold22. Green-and-gold22. Green-and-gold22. Green-and-gold22. Green-and-gold22. Green-and-gold22. Green-and-gold22. Green-and-gold28. Red spider lily8. Red spider lily8. Red spider lily8. Red spider lily8. Red spider lily9. Grecian windflower9. Grecian windflower9. Grecian windflower9. Grecian windflower9. Grecian windflower9. Grecian windflower9. Grecian windflower9. Grecian windflower9. Grecian windflower9. Grecian windflower9. Grecian windflower9. Grecian windflower
From above, to scale. Each circle is one plant, as wide as the room it needs.

The plants

  1. 1 Inkberry 'Shamrock' × 1, dark green leaves
  2. 2 Green-and-gold × 27, yellow
  3. 3 Bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei' × 11, pink
  4. 4 White mugwort × 4, cream
  5. 5 Siberian iris 'Caesar's Brother' × 3, purple
  6. 6 Hairy alumroot 'Autumn Bride' × 3, white
  7. 7 Gray's sedge × 3, green
  8. 8 Red spider lily × 5, red
  9. 9 Grecian windflower × 12, blue

Why this plant

  • The only plant grown for its leaves. Leaf lasts all season, where a flower lasts a few weeks.
  • Part of the bed's structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down. So does Gray's sedge.

Why here

  • Anchors a back corner. At 4 ft it is one of the taller plants here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
  • A step in the back row. Next to white mugwort (5 ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
  • One plant, alone. A shrub is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.

Why now

  • Here for its leaves, all year. They cover the 13 weeks between early March and late November when nothing on the plan is in flower.
  • The only leaves in winter. From November to March it is what there is to look at.

Planned as an English border: 7 of the 8 groups (88%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The scheme leans cool (pink, purple and blue) and uses yellow and red for warmth, with cream, white and green to calm things between them. The bed is tied together by its repeats: three kinds come round again along it, among them green-and-gold and bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei'.

The planner's own design check: 14 Excellent, 3 Good. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.

Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.

Where inkberry 'Shamrock' goes in a border

At 4 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is moderately tall (3 to 4 ft).

Its job: anchor. A shrub that gives the bed permanent structure. Planted singly, as soon as the front edge is laid; everything else is arranged around it.

The best inkberry for hedging, because it keeps its lower leaves. It gives a border the same evergreen backbone as boxwood in soils where boxwood struggles.

  • A native substitute for boxwood
  • Low hedges
  • Evergreen structure in moist soil

What to plant with inkberry 'Shamrock'

Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:

  • Summersweet 'Hummingbird': adds the flowers, mid July to mid August; spires rising out of its mound; happy in the same moist soil.
  • Hosta: bold leaves against its fine ones; spires rising out of its mound; low enough (18 in) to stand in front of it.
  • Astilbe: adds the flowers, late June to mid July; low enough (24 in) to stand in front of it; happy in the same moist soil.

Questions about inkberry 'Shamrock'

Does inkberry 'Shamrock' need sun or shade?

Inkberry 'Shamrock' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day), part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun) and part shade (2 to 4 hours of sun, mostly in the morning).

It wants soil that stays evenly moist, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells. It copes with soil that stays wet.

What zones does inkberry 'Shamrock' grow in?

USDA zones 4 to 10. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °C).

Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.

How far apart should inkberry 'Shamrock' be planted?

3½ ft (100 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 4 ft (120 cm), so a group knits into one patch.

It grows 4 ft (120 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.

How many inkberry 'Shamrock' plants do I need?

At 3½ ft apart, set out in staggered rows:

  • 1 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
  • 4 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
  • 3 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own

In a mixed border, plant it as one, planted singly: it is the bed's structure, and everything else is arranged around it.

In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.

Is inkberry 'Shamrock' poisonous to dogs and cats?

Yes: mild toxicity to people, dogs, cats and horses. The berries and leaves cause vomiting and diarrhoea if eaten.

Rated from NC State Extension. Where references disagree, the more cautious rating is used.

Is there a pet-safe plant like inkberry 'Shamrock'?

These come closest to doing what inkberry 'Shamrock' does, and no toxicity is recorded for them:

Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.

Do deer eat inkberry 'Shamrock'?

Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to rabbits. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.

What does inkberry 'Shamrock' look like in winter?

Inkberry 'Shamrock' keeps its dark green leaves all winter, so it is one of the plants that hold a bed together from November to March, when the perennials have gone.

Is inkberry 'Shamrock' good for bees and butterflies?

Inkberry 'Shamrock' is visited by pollinators, bees, specialist bees, butterflies and songbirds.

It is a host plant: the caterpillars of henry's elfin feed on its leaves. A butterfly can only lay its eggs on its host plants, so these do more for it than any nectar flower.

It is native to the United States (this is a named variety of the native plant).

More Ilex

In these guides

Zone guides: Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8 · Zone 9

Every fact on record

Type
Shrub
Size
4 ft (120 cm) tall, 4 ft (120 cm) wide
Plant
3½ ft (100 cm) apart
Height class
Moderately tall (3 to 4 ft)
Place in the bed
Back
Flowers
None: grown for its foliage
Leaves
Fine texture, evergreen; dark green
Shape
Rounded, clumping
Hardy in
USDA zones 4 to 10
Light
Full sun, part sun, part shade
Soil
Average, evenly moist
Water
Moderate
Feeding
Light, in spring
Family
Aquifoliaceae
Comes from
SE USA
Attracts
Pollinators, bees, specialist bees, butterflies, songbirds
Host plant for
Henry's elfin
Stands up to
Rabbits, salt, wet soil, pollution, erosion

Checked against NC State Extension. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.