Pasquesi: Garden Info - Trees and Shrubs (Growing Holly)

GROWING HOLLY

Holly is a popular decorative holiday plant, its green sprigs and full red berries signifying the festive season. Holly is a hardy and easy to maintain, making it a popular choice for gardeners wishing to add a vibrant and lush evergreen to Chicagoland gardens. Reaching heights of up to 10 feet, holly can live for 200 years if properly cared for. Holly is very durable, thriving under most any conditions.

Holly prefers a rich, slightly acidic soil; however, it will thrive well in virtually any well-drained soil. Holly is useful in shaded and exposed sites, where other plants would be too vulnerable to flourish.

Plant holly from May to September and prune annually according to variety. Plants are either male or female. Generally, both plants must be present for pollination to occur. It is best to choose plants of a like hybrid, to ensure that pollination is successful. The presence of a male and female plant will produce an array of bright red berries, lasting from early fall through the winter season.

Broadleaf evergreen hybrids provide Chicagoland gardeners with the best variety of holly plants, due to their exceptional hardiness. They furnish leathery, polished leaves of dark green to blue-green, and abundant red berries on the female plants. Growth will be limited to around 10 feet and plants can be pruned to maintain desired size and shape. Following is a list of hybrid evergreen holly varieties, as well as two deciduous varieties, suitable for the Chicagoland area. All grow well in either full or partial sun.

Latin Name	Common Name	Description	Growing Conditions
Ilex glabra ‘Compacta’	Compact Inkberry Holly	Dense and twiggy. Displays an abundance of black berries through winter.	Slow grower, up to 4’ high and wide.
Ilex glabra ‘Compacta’	Compact Inkberry Holly	Dense and twiggy. Displays an abundance of black berries through winter.	Slow grower, up to 4’ high and wide.
Ilex hybrid meserveae ‘Blue Boy’	Blue Boy Holly	Deep, rich color. Excellent pollenizer for nearby females.	Extra hardy. Grows 6 to 8’ high, 3’ to 6’ wide.
Ilex hybrid meserveae ‘Blue Girl’	Blue Girl Holly	Dense blue-green foliage and abundant bright red berries through winter.	Hardiest of hollies. Grows 6 to 8’ high, 3’ to 6’ wide.
Ilex hybrid meserveae ‘Blue Prince’	Blue Prince Holly	Beautiful dark blue-green foliage on blue-purple stems. Excellent pollenizer.	Extra hardy. Grows 6 to 8’ high, 3’ to 6’ wide.
Ilex hybrid meserveae ‘Blue Princess’	Blue Princess Holly	Dense blue-green foliage on purple stems. Profusion of red berries through winter.	Bushy shrub. Grows 8 to 10’ high, 6’ to 8’ wide.
Ilex hybrid meservaea ‘Mesdob’	China Boy Holly	Lustrous, deep green foliage. Good pollenizer for nearby females.	Vigorous grower. Grows 8 to10’ high, 6’ to 8’ wide.
Ilex hybrid meservaea ‘Mesog’	China Girl Holly	Dense branches with profusion of red berries in fall.	Good heat tolerance. Grows 8 to 10’ high, 6’ to 8’ wide.
Ilex verticillata (deciduous)	Jim Dandy Winterberry	Rich, deep green foliage on twiggy oval form. Plant as pollenizer for female winterberry varieties.	Slow grower, up to 6’ to 10’ high and wide.
Ilex verticillata (deciduous)	Red Sprite Winterberryterber	Profusion of bright red berries in winter provide food for birds.	Extremely hardy. Slow grower, up to 6’ to 10’ high and wide.

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