Today in the orchard
Winterberry (Ilex verticillata)
I pruned most of the day in the orchard we call the BRC. The hours flew by as I snipped and trimmed. No chainsaws needed. I completed the first ring around the orchard that’s exactly one acre. We have fifty-eight apple trees within the space. Most of the trees are thirty feet apart, although a few are closer. All are on “standard” seedling rootstocks. The oldest trees are now fourteen years old.
All around and in between the apple trees are companion plants, hundreds of them. Some we introduced but most either pre-date the apples or have appeared over time on their own. The most common native woody plant in the BRC is Winterberry (Ilex verticillata). It’s a small, tough-wooded, multi-stemmed shrub with smooth, gray bark that grows to be about 8 ft tall. We have dozens of clumps (is clump a scientific term?) It’s called Winterberry for a reason. The fall-winter berries can be incredibly beautiful although at this time of year they are rather shriveled up. I have cut some of them back as the adjacent apple trees have gotten larger, but mostly I leave them alone to do their thing. They are great companions.
