Inseparably linked with Christmas and long a favorite winter decoration, the holly has established a claim upon our hearts that sets it apart among evergreens.
The startling loveliness of its brilliant berries studded among glossy, dark green leaves, when most trees are bare or unrelieved somber evergreens, places it in the forefront of winter ornamentals.
Holly As A Hedge
Holly is especially adaptable as a hedge: it thrives in either sun or shade, and where the hedge must run through variously lighted areas.
As more hedges do, the holly remains more nearly uniform in color and texture than any other hedge except perhaps the yew.
It makes a hedge of superior landscape quality, and clippings taken during Christmas can yield income. Perhaps that is why holly hedges are so rare today: killing the goose that lays the golden egg is a temptation to most of us.
Suppose you have ever bought a sprig of holly at Christmastime. You know how much each small brunch is worth.
If you wait to cut your holly hedge until the demand has reached its height, then offer fresh greens—glossy leaves and bright red berries—you can command a better price and be assured of selling locally all you can cut.
Holly shipped from a distance in wooden cases often turns brownish and loses many of its berries. But don’t cut your holly hedge so hard that next year’s crop will fail.
A good hedge, properly handled, should yield each year double what it yielded the year before, at least for the first 20 years.
Severe Pruning
Holly endures severe pruning once the toots become established. At first, only the tops of young plants should be trimmed. In no case should the amount of growth removed equal a year’s production.
Even when the hedge has good proportions, it should not be sheared as hedges usually are but left to grow throughout the season.
New shoots develop in the NorthNorth by late April; flowers appear about June I or earlier in the South. By fall, there should be some tall shoots at the top, longer branches reaching out from the body of the hedge.
These will normally carry the greatest concentration of berries. It requires only a little practice to cut back these long growths so that they make good sprays for decoration. The appearance of the hedge will also benefit from their removal.
Choosing A Holly
You can choose several fine varieties if you plan to start a holly hedge. The European holly, Ilex aquifolium, has yet to be expelled for the luster of foliage or the size and quality of berries. But except in the Far West and some parts of the South, it cannot be depended upon in this country for hardiness.
In the coastal region of Washington and Oregon, this holly thrives in many forms to produce bountiful harvests of Christmas greens.
Certain horticultural varieties of it will persist in favored spots through southern Massachusetts, central New Jersey, and the Ohio Valley, but they need to make reliable hedges.
Other beautiful but not too rugged varieties include:
- The Chinese holly, Ilex cornuta, which in the North tends to bear few berries and soon loses its color.
- Ilex pernyi is a small-leaved form that does not bear heavily.
- The spineless, dainty yaupon, Ilex vomitoria, fails north of Virginia.
All of these serve excellently as hedges in the warmer regions of the country.
For the largest part of the country, we depend on the native Ilex opaca, the familiar Christmas holly.
It can be relied on to the limits of its natural range, from southern Massachusetts to southern Pennsylvania, the Ohio Valley: Southern Missouri, and eastern Texas.
Planted northward of this line, many trees brought from the wilds of the South will fail. For this reason, plantings should be selected only from the rich assortment of named horticultural varieties, certain of which are noted for hardiness. Some of these are suggested below.
Cutting-Grown Hedges
In any case, a hedge of a single horticultural variety propagated by cuttings is superior to one of the assembled wild seedlings.
Each seedling follows a growth pattern, often astonishingly different from its neighbors. A line of such seedlings may become a good hedge but more likely a hodgepodge.
You can see a notable hedge at Guyancourt, Del., just south of Philadelphia. This was set out in 1930 with cutting-grown plants of ARDEN, a nursery variety of holly favored for rapid growth and rich berry production every year, thus assuring a regular Christmas crop.
An even better-looking hedge, especially while still small, is MRS. SANTA, although its berries are not so large nor so plentifully produced.
MRS. SANTA quickly closes any gap or opening with its rapidly growing, graceful branches. CLARK offers a fine deep color and dense leafage, but growth is much slower.
Other Suitable Holly Varieties
Other suitable varieties are offered by nurseries that specialize in holly. The farther north the hedge is to be planted, the more important it is to seek a specialist’s advice before planting.
The hedge must consist of female (pistillate) hollies to bear berries. It is also necessary to plant a male (staminate) tree within a rod or two for every 10 or 15 yards of the hedge. Otherwise, pollen may not reach the pistillate flowers, and the berry crop will fail.
Staminate trees within the hedge itself spoil its appearance and, if pruned, furnish little pollen. Treating these staminate trees as specimens is best, allowing them to grow as large and fast as possible.
Hollies must not be set too close in the hedge, or they will dehydrate each other by crowding. A spacing of 4’ or 5’ feet is best, although, in deep, rich soil, 3’ feet may be enough. The roots prefer silt or loam.
They thrive well in the sand but often assume an inferior yellow color. For success in clay soil, quantities of sand and peat must be dug into a depth of 2’ or 3’ feet and mixed with the clay.
In the South, manure may be given; in the North North, no manure or fertilizer should be used. It may force fall growth, which is inevitably destroyed in severe winters.
The exception is cottonseed meal, which does not seem to force growth; even with it, caution is advised. Water should be withheld in the fall.
An occasional application of rich soil around the roots is helpful, as is a mulch or cultivation while the plants are young.
Transplanting
The transplanting season is less important in the South than in the North. September is a good transplanting month south of the Mason-Dixon line, North of it.
April is much better, and North North of the native holly’s natural range is the only month.
For April transplanting, it is advisable to prepare the soil in the fall; in spring, heavy soil tends to lie in lumps which invite disaster.
Hollies require great care in moving, and it is vital to have the soil settled snugly around them with no air spaces.
Arrangements to obtain holly plants from r. the nursery should also be made in the fall, as the choicest varieties are not too plentiful.
A well-grown holly hedge will be a source of great pleasure for years. But cut the branches sparingly for Christmas decorations.
With proper handling, your hedge will double in beauty and value each year, brightening up your winter garden with bright red berries and beautiful waxy green leaves, bringing Christmas joy into your home and many others.
44659 by G. G. Nearing