Selection and Care of Holly

Most people are familiar with Christmas holly adorning a wreath or mantle, but holly trees and holly shrubs make excellent landscape plants.

Holly Plants for Any Garden

There’s literally a holly for every garden location. The genus includes over 600 plants, with hollies suitable for every single one of the 50 United States. There are 20 native American species alone, and 200 English holly types.

While most people imagine green, spiny leaves and shiny red berries, holly is truly a diverse plant and offers a wide range of sizes, colors and leaf types. The smallest hollies are dwarf spreading hollies that rise only inches above the ground. The tallest holly tree soars to over 70 feet. Leaf colors include every shade of green imaginable, with variegated leaves, smooth leaves, and spiny edges. Even the berries come in many colors. Red berries call to mind the typical Christmas holly, but white, orange, and black berries may also be found.

Selecting Holly as a Landscape Shrub

Most holly species are evergreen, providing a colorful backdrop to the landscape during the winter months. Keep in mind that some are also deciduous, meaning they will drop their leaves, so look carefully at the label of the holly plant under consideration and select the type best suited to the garden.

Consider the overall size, growth habit, color and shape of the holly under consideration. In the United States, several common holly varieties are worth considering:

• Ilex crenata (Japanese or Box Holly): A favorite for landscaping, the Japanese holly or Ilex crenata resembles boxwood and is used as an ornamental garden plant or hedge. People who dislike box’s strong smell often choose Japanese holly for the garden. It’s native to Japan and Asia but grows well in most garden zones in the USA.
• Ilex opaca (American holly): Native to the eastern section of the United States, Ilex opaca has large, spiny green leaves and large berries. It grows wild throughout the southeastern United States and grows to be several feet high. In northern areas, it doesn’t attain the same height, but still looks lovely in the landscape.
• Ilex verticulata (American Winterberrry): Ilex verticulata is actually a deciduous holly grown mostly for its large berries. The red berries provide winter interest and forage for wild birds and animals.

There are several hundred hollies to choose from for the garden. For more information about holly varieties and choosing holly trees and plants, please see the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension site or Fine Gardening.

Planting and Caring for Holly

Holly prefers well-drained, slightly acidic soil, although it tolerates a wide range of conditions. It grows best in full sun but will also grow in partial shade. In northern climates, choose south or southeastern facing locations for holly. Be sure to amend the soil with organic matter such as compost or peat moss prior to planting. Once planted, water holly until it becomes established.

Christmas Holly Berries: It Takes Two

Holly plants are male and female, and it takes two to tango, even among the plant kingdom. A male and female holly plant must be grown within approximately 40 feet of each other in order to produce the bright Christmas berries desirable on most holly species. Insects such as bees, moths and other flying insects pollinate holly. Most garden centers identify male and female hollies on the tag. One male may be planted among many females if growing more than one holly in the landscape.

Uses of Holly

People throughout the ages revered holly, and the folklore surrounding holly is extensive. It’s been used as a Christmas decoration since the Middle Ages, and prior to Christianity was used in pagan and Celtic ceremonial magic and rituals. In industry and art, holly wood is prized for its durable, smooth surface and formed the spindles of spinning machines during the Industrial Revolution. Some types of holly may be dyed and used in lieu of ebony wood, and holly was used for many centuries to create chess pieces and sets.

Today, holly is much loved as a Christmas decoration. It’s fine to cut boughs off of landscape holly trees and shrubs and place them in vases throughout the home. Be sure no insect larvae or egg cases cling to the holly, or some unexpected visitors may drop by for the holidays.