UMaine Extension bulletins cited in Press Herald column on native holiday plants

University of Maine Cooperative Extension bulletins were cited in the latest column in the Portland Press Herald “Maine Gardener” series. The article, “Add native plants for holly jolly Christmas for people and wildlife,” suggests winterberry and mountain holly to provide snacks for animals and uplifting color for humans. While wildlife will eat the berries from evergreen hollies, they prefer winterberry fruit, the article states. According to the UMaine Extension bulletin on winterberries, more than 43 species of birds eat the berries. Another Maine native, mountain holly, grows in the same places as winterberry. According to another UMaine Extension bulletin, wildlife eat the mountain holly’s berries in early fall, meaning they might not be around through the winter.