Holly

My neighbor just asked me about Holly bushes/trees.
I have one that a friend gave me a few years ago but know little about them.
Are there different kinds?
Which is better for Zone 6?
How can we tell the gender of young plants?
How many females can one male keep happy?
Are there any pest problems?
He is looking for red berries.
He wants to put them (minimum of 4) in a sunny spot.
Andy P

Edited to ask if there would be a better evergreen for a visual barrier that also make fruit for birds.

This message was edited Jan 22, 2006 5:40 PM

Are there different kinds? Yes, hundreds of hybrids, and quite a few species that do well. Some are deciduous, some are shrubs and some make large trees after a number of years.

American Holly (Ilex opaca) is hybridized in the hundreds and all are evergreen. The species seedling is not often encountered at nurseries, mostly the have named cultivars which tend to fruit better and have denser foliage. There are also some which don't grow as large as the seedling tree would. The American species is also hardier than the English Hollies (I. aquifolium).

The Oriental hollies (I. crenata,Japanese; I. cornuta, Chinese) tend to be shrubs, the kind people make foundation plantings with.

Some of my favorite hollies are the native deciduous ones, especially I. verticillata, also called Winterberry. I haven't bought any of the named cultivars yet (there are many many) because they grow wild on my place. I scattered a handful of seeds in a swampy area a doxen years ago and now there is a nice little grove of them.

So far as how many males, one male will pollinate as many females as you will likely plant, the critical thing is bloom time. If there are any hollies nearby, planting more will benefit everybody as long as blooms times overlap.

There are dozens of different holly species, and hundreds of cultivars and hybrids. Evergreen or deciduous, trees or shrubs, red berries or black (or none, on males), uplands or swamps, prickly leaves or not, etc. You might want to look up some of them in a book first and then come back to us with some ideas to respond to.

You can't tell the gender unless (1) it is flowering or (2) it was rooted or grafted form a known-gender tree. They do have some problems, like leaf miners, and most species grow slowly. The deciduous ones are the hardiest, but several evergreen species will grow nicely in zone 6.

Guy S.

Thanks guys, I figured that this would be a broad question.
My neighbor has heard me brag about DG and asked me to ask you.
Penn Pete, I had not thought about bloom time for different types and that question came up about Apples recently.
Guy, The little one I have is evergreen. It was found growing in a flower bed as a volunteer.
He wants evergreen, tall, shrubs for backyard privacy.
I'll have to sit him down in PlantFiles and browse around with him.
Andy P

As you browse around the PlantFiles, see if your neighbor has any other restrictions for these plants, insofar as how tall and how wide does he have space for.

If he wants a tree-like plant (but branched to the ground) I'd strongly vote for Ilex opaca (American holly) for zone 6 MA. There are plenty of examples of very good American hollies for your area. If he wants a shrub-like plant, then the Meserve-type hollies are the simple choice to make (Ilex × meserveae, either the Blue series or the China series).

The Holly Society of America is an exceptional source of information for the genus Ilex; you can find them at http://www.hollysocam.org and they have a pretty active organization if you are pathological about holly. A great text to browse (or buy, again if the obsession strikes) is the late Fred Galle's tome Hollies: The Genus Ilex. A wow book.

Post a pic of your baby volunteer. Could be one of many, depending on what's growing in your neighborhood.

Here's a branch of an American holly growing outside my office in Louisville. This tree is reaching above the roofline; the building is three full stories. Your neighbor could do worse.

Nice pic, we can't get as much red on the silk "fakeo's" in the florist"s dry bin.

Andy,
Why not plan an outing to Arnold Arboretum with your neighbor this weekend. It's right around the corner from you and would offer you the best information on what ilex varieties are happiest in your neck of the woods by living example as well as having a very knowledgeable staff. Pack a big lunch you may never want to leave. Katy

V.V., Thanks. There sure is a lot of info on that site. Should keep him busy for a while, he wants me to print it out. I don't think so. LOL.
Once I show him your pic he'll say that is the one he wants.
Katy, I was thinking about the Arboretum for the Spring. There is soooo much to see there. It's been a few years since I have gone so this might be a good excuse.
Thanks Again.
Andy P