Deck your garden with boughs of holly, a plant rich in symbolism and evergreen beauty
No doubt you’ve seen your share of hollies this month — in wreaths and boughs or perhaps on holiday cards and catalog covers. But are they growing in your garden?
There are hundreds of holly species and hybrids hailing from China, Japan, South America, Europe and North Africa, and more than a dozen are native to the continental U.S.
Lore holds that ancient pagans fashioned the evergreen’s branches into wearable crowns and believed that displaying it indoors would repel evil spirits and hasten the return of spring. Later, hollies were adapted by early Christians, their evergreen nature symbolic of eternal life.
Although the plants can promise neither, their red berries and deep-green foliage, which mirror the traditional colors of the season, are beautiful year-round garden staples. And their berries provide an important winter food source for birds and wildlife, although most are considered toxic to humans.
The best time to plant hollies is in early spring, after the last hard freeze (if applicable) but before the heat of summer sets in. Be sure to water regularly during the plant’s first year in your garden, when its roots are working establish themselves.
With very few exceptions, hollies are dioecious, which means plants are either male or female, and in order for the female to produce berries, there must be a male growing nearby. One male can effectively pollinate about 10 female plants growing within 50 feet (15 meters), sometimes more.
Plant tags don’t always note if a dioecious plant is male or female, but the variety name can help. “China Girl” is female, and to get fruit, you’ll need “China Boy.” It’s not always obvious, though; for example, “Greenleaf” is also female. If you’re unsure, ask nursery staff.
Here are four favorites to consider (and one you might want to avoid):
Yaupon Holly (Ilex vomitoria)
This long-living species naturally occurs along the United State’s southern Atlantic coast and across the Southeast and Southwest. Choose dwarf, weeping or upright varieties to grow trees, shrubs or pruned hedgerows. Hardy in USDA horticultural zones 7-9, the unfussy natives are tolerant of both sun and shade, and thrive in any soil type and pH, as long as it is moist and well-draining.
American Holly (Ilex opaca)
Native along the entire East Coast and west to Missouri and Texas, this slow-growing, pyramidical holly can reach 25-60 feet (8-18 meters) tall at maturity. Also known as Christmas holly, the spiny-leaved plants are hardy in zones 5-9, tolerating both sun and shade but requiring acidic, moist, well-draining sandy or loamy soil.
Blue holly (Ilex x meserveae)
Also called Meserve holly, this generally well-behaved European hybrid has blue-green spiny leaves and grows 2-8 feet (0.6 to 2.4 meters) tall and 6-8 feet (1.8 to 2.4 meters) wide, and larger in some climates. Suitable for zones 5-7 (possibly 8), the shrubby plants should be planted in full sun to part shade in well-draining, moist, acidic soil.
Winterberry holly (Ilex verticillata)
Unlike the other species on this list, verticillata is a deciduous, not evergreen, plant that loses its foliage in autumn. But don’t discount its winter interest! In fact, the absence of leaves while fruiting is one of its best features, allowing its profusion of red-orange berries to take center stage on bare, thin branches.
Native to the eastern U.S. and Canada, this slow grower tops out at 3-8 feet (0.9 to 2.4 meters). Plant it in zones 3-9, in sun to shade and in well-draining, moist, acidic soil.
English or common holly (Ilex aquifolium)
Native to Europe, West Asia and North Africa, English holly is spreading into wild areas and choking out native vegetation from Vancouver to the Pacific Northwest and into California.
Ironically, the qualities that made it a desirable landscape plant when it was introduced to the U.S. in the 1800s — it’s tough as nails, long-lived, evergreen and quick-spreading — are what have led to its categorization as an invasive plant in those parts of the country and a “weed of concern” in many others.
Avoid its use in problematic regions and proceed with caution in others.