Possum Haw Holly, Possumhaw, Deciduous Holly 'Warren's Red'

Possumhaw Holly is often a large, tree-like shrub that is usually about 12 to 20 feet high and the spread is usually about 2/3 of the hei...Read Moreght. It usually grows in strongly acid (to pH 4.0) to slightly acid soils, draining wet to dry, but can tolerate alkaline soil up to pH 8.5. It is native from southern Missouri & Illinois through eastern Texas over to central Florida, up into Virginia. It grows around a foot/year. It transplants well to balled & burlapped with its fibrous, shallow, lateral root system. The red fruit lasts from October through March, unless totally eaten by birds. 'Warren's Red' is a cultivar that bears fruit heavier than the mother species.

'Warren's Red' possumhaw was selected and named by the late Otis Warren of Warren and Son Nursery, Oklahoma City, OK. The late Bob Simps...Read Moreon (extraordinary nurseryman from Vincennes IN) had this fine plant registered in the 1980s.

Around since the 1950s, 'Warren's Red' set the standard for performance among deciduous hollies for copious persistent fruit.

This is an easy holly to propagate. If one wanted to search for a drawback, it holds its leaves longer than other possumhaws. It makes up for it by holding its fruit till new lustrous dark green leaves emerge in spring.

Give this one a go. Provide a male pollinator and regular soils (though possumhaws do well in wet sites too) and stand back for the winter fruit display.