Girl holly with lots of red berries looking festive for winter
A few years ago, my sister Mutsie used her gift money to buy an evergreen holly (Ilex) shrub for the yard. It was a beautiful little shrub covered in red berries. She read all the plant information and planted her holly exactly as directed. Her shrub settled into its new home and began to thrive. However, the next year it did not produce any holly berries. Thinking that it must be because of the recent transplanting, my sister waited patiently for the next fall season. When another year passed with no berries, she was upset and went back to the plant nursery to complain about her shrub. At that point she was told that all holly shrubs were either male or female. Since her shrub had berries when she purchased it, then it was definately a girl holly. However, in order to have berries, she would need to introduce her girl holly to a boy holly. Who knew?
My sister waited for the fall plant sales and purchased a few more hollies. She now has a small cluster of girl hollies and one boy holly to complete the family. Her yard boasts a holly shrub community with green shiny leaves and plenty of red berries that look great against the snow. It makes a bright spot in her winter garden and every year I am envious.
Gardening Tips
As you may know, holly can be grown successfully across the United States. It is hardy, easy to prune and is a great privacy hedge because it makes an imposing barrier. Native Americans, Europeans and Chinese have all used holly sprays and berries in religious and cultural celebrations for adornment and decoration. What could be better?
Growing information
Soil: Soil needs can vary, so check with your grower for instructions on the type of holly you’re interested in. The one soil requirement most hollies have in common is that they like acidic soil (pH 5.0 – 6.0).
Water: Hollies are drought tolerant.
Location: Hardy and adaptable, there’s probably a holly that can thrive in your garden no matter where you live. However if you want holly berries, you will need both male and female plants. Usually there are many more female hollies available in plant nurseries, so you may need to look a bit longer for your boy holly. However, when you notice your girl holly covered in beautiful red berries, you will know it was worth the effort.
There is a decidious native holly (ilex) that grows in the woods up here. This fall they were loaded with berries. We picked a lot of them to put in the planters in front of the community center which we are responsible for filling. They are beautiful. I love the berrie on ours because they are small, but so numerous and they hold over the winter. Next spring I am going to root some and plant them in my yard.