One clear, cold December day, after a light fall of snow, I took a friend to see an unusual holly tree growing in a glade in the woods;
You came suddenly on the holly through the thickly-growing surrounding trees.
As my friend stepped into the opening where the holly was growing, and as the full beauty of the tree was suddenly presented to him, he stopped as if something very remarkable had suddenly come before him.
He stood in silence for some time without saying anything. Then he exclaimed: “I have never seen anything so beautiful.”
The surrounding woods of pine, birch, and maple and the snow-covered ground made a setting that might indeed call for such an exclamation.
It was a picture that one seldom sees these days in our woods.
Native Hollies: Too Scarce
Our native hollies have become all too scarce, and we have sadly neglected them in our ornamental planting.
I was much delighted with this expression of the beauty of the holly from my friend, for it proved to me that the holly had much more than its traditional or Christmas appeal and that it could be classed as one of our best ornamental trees.
Planting Holly Tree: Easy To Grow
At the recent meeting of the Holly Society of America in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, a man who has been planting trees all of his life told me that he had always believed that the holly was so difficult to transplant.
He had never dared attempt it without removing all the leaves; it was also questionably hardy, grew slowly, and had all kinds of troubles.
So he just kept away from it until lately, when experimenting a little, he found that all of these troubles were purely imaginary.
As a matter of fact, the holly is one of the easiest trees to move and grow if one follows simple directions.
Our hollies are hardy all along the sea coast and inland, but certainly at altitudes below 2000′ feet.
Hollies in Massachusetts are growing where temperatures have reached 30° degrees Fahrenheit, and these have never shown winter-killing.
Important Things To Know When Planting Hollies
Soil: Sour And Well-Drained
Soils for starting hollies are more important than temperatures.
The holly needs and requires acidic soil, but when well established will grow in almost any soil.
The use of plenty of decayed oak leaves, peat, and thoroughly decayed manure will assure a good steady growth after the tree is once established.
Trees that grow at the rate of 2′ feet a year are not uncommon, but trees should be kept well mulched with acid reaction material, such as decayed oak leaves, sawdust, and shavings from pine and oak.
Well-drained soils are preferred, even sandy soils may be built up, but badly drained clay soils should be avoided.
Location: Planted Near House
Location is most important; it should be kept in mind that the holly is a winter tree; its beauty is of the winter season when it stands out from the naked branches of the deciduous trees in glory.
So the holly should be planted near the house, not too near so that it cannot be seen from a window, but far enough to form a picture against a background with lighter trees like birch or poplar.
Snow For Winter Landscape
Snow heightens the effect, for the bright glistening berries and the dark green foliage create a picture far too seldom seen in our winter landscape.
One fact that has discouraged the planting of hollies almost more than anything else is that so often, trees of only one sex have been used, and consequently, there are no berries.
Dioecious Hollies
Hollies are dioecious, which means that they are of different sexes.
Unfortunately, many horticulturists have not recognized this fact and have sold trees whose sex they did not know.
It is advisable always to plant a couple of female or berry-bearing hollies and one male or pollen tree.
If you want only fruiting trees, the male may be planted as far as 50′ feet from the females, for the pollen is carried long distances by insects.
Grown From Seed
Formerly, most hollies were grown from seed, and there was no way to tell the sex of the little tree until it bloomed.
Now that practically all lollies are grown from cuttings of known sex, there will be little danger of getting a sterile tree.
Hollies In Windy Locations
Hollies will stand in windy locations; many here on Cape Cod went through two hurricanes unprotected.
They are fine shore trees, as salt spray and salt water flooding do not injure them.
In one of the hurricanes, some trees were flooded to a depth of 20′ feet, and they are still growing splendidly.
Selection Of Better Hollies
The last two decades have brought wonderful results in selecting better hollies.
It must be remembered that all hollies are seedlings in the wild and, consequently, vary greatly from each other.
Characteristics And Values
This gave the searcher for better hollies a splendid opportunity to select those characteristics or values he was looking for.
We now have trees, especially for the landscape. Such trees grow tall and symmetrical, with a central stem, a true holly shape.
Then there are those with special value as orchard trees that grow more open and slightly sprawly and have long branches that make good sprays for Christmas cutting.
Then there are those whose berries are so placed on the stem that they are best for making wreaths.
Color And Size Of Hollies
The color of the berries is important, and we now have hollies varying from canary yellow and orange through to the deepest red.
One may select his holly for his own choice in color, but most of us want a holly with the brightest, glossiest red that is a real holly red. So we have them to suit all tastes.
Speaking of Christmas, and everyone connects holly with Christmas, your holly tree can be grown and pruned so that you may get all of the greens required for the house if careful pruning is done.
The ideal type grows somewhat openly and will have long branches that may be cut a reasonable length without cutting the whole tree, leaving some to develop for the next season.
Proper Pruning
Proper pruning shapes the tree, and the holly seems to thrive on good pruning. So our holly tree serves many purposes.
The legends which connect it to the life of the Master are many and endear this beautiful tree to the Christmas season.
Landscape Effects
I feel that its greatest value lies in its landscape effects and in the joy that it brings in the long winter months.
Furthermore, one should feel a deep sense of satisfaction in planting and protecting this tree, which is fast disappearing from our woodlands.
44659 by Wilfred Wheeler