If the Possumhaw were better known and understood, it would be used much more than it is. Few shrubs or trees give so much color to a winter landscape. The orange or scarlet berries, although not so large as those of the American or Christmas holly, are borne lavishly.
In a good year, many of the twigs are virtually covered. One bush becomes an attraction on the lawn from early autumn until the new year. Then why is the deciduous holly so little known and used? Perhaps those who have tried it have not understood its peculiarities.
Dioecious Holly
In the first place, it is dioecious; it has staminate (male) flowers on one plant and pistillate (female) flowers on another.
Nurseries frequently sell seedlings which may be either male or female.
The homeowner who plants a seedling has a 50/50 chance of getting a male plant and hence no berries.
It is possible, although improbable, to get all male plants in lots of two or three.
Even if he gets a female plant, he is no better off unless there is a male plant near enough to fertilize the flowers.
The solution is to patronize a nursery that propagates vegetatively. If a cutting is taken from a berry-bearing plant, we know the resulting shrub will have berries.
The nursery that propagates in this manner can sell either staminate or pistillate plants, or both, in whatever proportion you wish.
Usually, one staminate bush will be enough to fertilize all the pistillate plants.
A suitable arrangement is to place the berry-bearing plants where they will show to best advantage, relegating the male plant to an inconspicuous location.
Problems During Frost
Sometimes the possumhaw fails to produce berries because of frost damage. This frequently seems to be the case in low areas with poor air drainage.
In such places, we are most likely to find deciduous hollies growing in the wild.
Last fall, I was disappointed in the sparse crop of berries I found on a thicket of possumhaw bushes growing on a river bottom.
I had just seen some upland bushes that were heavily laden. The two locations made the difference.
It seems to be the late spring frosts that get the holly berries. We know that late spring frosts are more prevalent on low land than on slopes and ridges.
We also might expect less damage in town than in the open country. If yours is a common area subject to late frosts, approach the matter of planting deciduous hollies cautiously.
Since deciduous hollies bloom in June after frost danger is past, one might wonder how frost can be a problem.
The answer is that flowers are borne on new growth, which may have been injured earlier in the season.
Bringing Out The Possumhaw’s Berries
The berries show to much more significant advantage after the leaves have fallen.
The bushes along the roadside are not especially noticed until frost has stripped them of their leaves. Then the possumhaw stands out brilliantly.
To bring out the color of the fruit, the bushes may well be planted in front of reasonably tall growing evergreens.
Ideal Growing Conditions
Possumhaw may grow to a height of 10’ or 15’ feet, or possibly up to 30’ feet in a favorable location.
It grows in rich, moist bottomland in its southern range and becomes a small tree.
It is a shrub that may not produce more than 8’ or 10’ feet high on upland soil in its more northern field.
A well-formed, heavily berried possumhaw standing in front of tall evergreens with a light dusting of snow is a sight long to be remembered.
The gardener with a boggy spot on reasonably high ground will find the possumhaw suited to the situation. Despite its preference for moist soil, it has no particular objection to an upland site.
I have seen it growing and happy on rocky hillsides. Of course, its ultimate height will probably be less in a dry location, but that is hardly a disadvantage.
Half a dozen bushes I planted 3 or 4 years ago in ordinary upland soil have grown very well.
A moisture-loving plant prefers an ample supply of organic matter in the ground to help carry the spring rainfall through the growing season.
The ones I planted have not yet fruited and may not since I unwisely used seedlings.
Leaf Shedding Kinds
The possumhaw is one of several deciduous hollies. Another with a more attractive name is winterberry, also known as the black alder.
Botanically, the possumhaw is Ilex decidua; the winterberry, Ilex verticillata.
The possumhaw is native from Virginia through the southern half of Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas.
How far north it is hardy seems not to be known. However, there is no indication of a lack of hardiness in central Missouri.
The winterberry is native much farther north than the natural range of the possumhaw. It is found as far north as Ontario. It loses its fruit earlier in the season than the possumhaw.
The berries do not last as well for indoor decoration. However, since it is grown in the cast for Christmas decorations, it is expected to retain its berries until after that time.
A species, Ilex laevigata (smooth winterberry), is said to have somewhat larger but less abundant fruit than the common winterberry.
It also holds its fruit later. There are yellow-fruited varieties of both species.
One or two deciduous holly bushes on the home grounds will provide a bountiful supply of branches for fall and winter bouquets without damage to the plants.
The bushes will be better if cutting is done in the form of careful pruning.
Be prepared to share the fruit with the birds when you plant deciduous holly, possumhaw, or winterberry.
Trading holly berries for the song of a mockingbird or brown thrasher is a rare bargain.
Other birds that dine on the fruit of these hollies are pileated woodpeckers, waxwings, robins, doves, bluebirds, catbirds, phoebes, and white-throated sparrows.
44659 by R. R. Thomasson