Hollies: The other Christmas plant

Mary Ann Ryan
Adams County Master Gardener

When I think of Christmas, I think of the Christmas tree. A needled evergreen tree that we decorate for the holiday season. But there is another evergreen that often takes the stage during the holiday season: the holly.

Hollies come in many shapes and sizes. Often we think of them as evergreens, meaning, they hold their leaves throughout the winter season. But this plant comes in many forms, from trees to shrubs, from evergreen to deciduous.

For the most part, hollies are dioecious. This means that there are male and female plants – female plants producing only female flowers and male plants producing only male flowers. What this means for us gardeners is that if we want berries on our plants, we must have the female plant to produce the berries, with a male plant close by. The male will not produce any berries but will produce the pollen necessary to pollinate the female flower, which, in turn, becomes the berries that we want for winter interest. This is important to keep in mind when purchasing hollies, as there is a perfect male for every female! Hollies flower at slightly different times, so in order to have cross pollination take place on your particular plant, you must be sure you have the right partner for your girl.

The deciduous hollies are probably my favorite. The scientific name for this group of plants is Ilex verticillata, also known as the winterberry. They are typically grown for their berries, which tend to hang on through December and into January. Although birds do eat them, they don’t seem to be their first choice. In my yard the birds hit the viburnums pretty hard before visiting the hollies.

Because of their attraction to birds, their winter interest, and their flexibility in the landscape, the industry has introduced many varieties and cultivars of Ilex verticillata. Some stay more compact, some with large berries, and yet some with gold berries. Typically, they like part sun to full sun, well drained soils, but not dry, and they tolerate some of our clay soils, unlike many other types of hollies.

The leaves on these hollies are not the typical holly leaf. They are small and oval in shape, with no spines. The color is a dull green in the summer, but a nice red color in the fall, very showy, making this a pretty plant with different attributes all year.

Here are three easy to find varieties you may want to try:

Ilex verticillata ‘Winter Gold’ has large, golden berries that are great for cutting this time of year. Partner it with ‘Southern Gentleman’ to get a heavy crop of berries. A slow grower, it can reach eight feet tall.

Ilex verticillata ‘Red Sprite’ is a smaller version of the winterberry. It boasts of a height of four feet, making it a bit easier to use as a foundation plant. ‘Southern Gentleman’ is its male partner.

And the last winterberry I will mention is ‘Winter Red’. This has a heavy load of dark red berries and reaches 8’. ‘Southern Gentleman’ is its partner as well.

Another native holly that is thought of around the holidays is the American holly, Ilex opaca, sometimes called the Christmas holly. Unlike the winterberry which tolerates clay soil, the American holly does not. It likes well drained soils and lower pH. These will reach 50’ tall and 20’ wide, however, they are slow growers. Keep it protected from winter winds, as the leaves will burn. As with many hollies, it does require a male for the female to produce berries. When shopping for these, look for both the male and female American holly.

Two common insect problems with this plant are leaf miner and scale, and it can get a disease called tar spot. If interested in growing this native holly, go on-line to see what these issues look like so you can be prepared if you see any of them when scouting your plants for problems.

A very common group of hollies is the blue hollies. In the 80’s and 90’s it seemed that every new planting had a few blue hollies along the foundation of the house, and for good reason.

These plants have a dark green leaf color, and produce big, red berries. They are a shrub, so probably will get to 6’ tall, but can be maintained a bit smaller. They take pruning well and make nice decorations for wreaths and garland. Blue hollies are not native. They are a cross between two species. Here are some common cultivars of blue hollies:

Ilex x meservaea ‘Blue Princess’ and Blue Prince’. These have great leaf color – dark green leaves and dark stems. The berries are bright red, a great contrast with the dark foliage. Great for foundation plants and hedges.

Ilex x merservaea ‘China Girl’ and ‘China Boy’. These plants have lighter colored foliage, and in my experience, get a bit larger in size than the Blue Princess.

Ilex c merseraea ‘Golden Girl’. This female holly has golden berries with dark green foliage, a nice change and contrast to the red berried plants. As with most blue hollies, this one will get about 5’ tall and rounded in habit. The male partner is ‘Blue Stallion’. ‘Blue Stallion’ can be used to pollinate most of the female blue hollies.

Ilex x merserveae ‘Dragon Lady’. This is one of my favorites of the blue hollies. Unlike the cultivars mentioned so far, this one is pyramidal, not rounded. It reaches easily 20’ and is relatively slender for the height of the plant. Like all blue hollies, it is relatively free of pests and disease, doesn’t need pruning, and tolerant of most soils.

The English holly, Ilex aquifolium, is one of the more difficult hollies to grow. It doesn’t like it very hot, nor very cold. It likes well-drained soils, prefers loam or sandy soils, and is hardy to zone 6. It should grow well along the coast, but in the mountains, maybe not so well. It’s worth mentioning, though, because during the holidays, you may see this shrub sold as a Christmas holly in variegated form. It’s often seen in bunches of cut greens or in wreaths as well, mostly because of it’s dark, glossy leaves, and the pretty white or yellow margins of the leaves. Most of the cultivars do get large. The straight species reaches 40’, so be sure if you pick one of these up at the garden center to read the label for the height of the particular cultivar.

Here’s an interesting holly to check out, the Burford holly, Ilex cornuta ‘Burfordii’. All the hollies mentioned so far in this article are dioecious, meaning two hollies are needed, both male and female, to produce berries. This one, however, bucks the rules. It is self-pollinating, so two plants are not needed for berries.

The leaves on this plant are unlike other hollies in that it has one spine on the tip, but the edges of the leaves are smoother. The leaves are a dull green, much like color of the American holly. The berries are clustered, red, and quite showy. This plant is more rounded than pyramidal.

This plant is another large one, reaching 20’ tall. This plant is hardy to zone 7, so in protected areas, we might be able to grow this plant. There is a dwarf variety, that is mature at 4’ – 6’ that you may want to try.

Hopefully this gives you a good look at our other Christmas plant and the many options we have. Hollies are great for cutting in our holiday decorations, and they make great plants in the landscape. Just be sure to site them right, and you should have great luck with growing them. Have a great holiday season!

Read other winter related gardening articles