Inseparably linked with Christmas and long a favorite winter decoration, the holly has established a claim upon our hearts which sets it apart among evergreens. The startling loveliness of its brilliant berries studded among lustrous, dark green leaves, at a time of year when most trees are bare or unrelieved somber evergreens, places it in the forefront of winter ornamentals.
Holly is especially adaptable as a hedge: it thrives in either sun or shade and where the hedge must run through areas variously lighted, 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 at the Christmas season can yield a source of 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.
If 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.
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 North by late April; flowers appear about June 1, or even earlier in the South. By fall there should he 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 in such a way that they make good sprays for decoration. The appearance of the hedge will also benefit by their removal.
Choosing a Holly
If you are planning to start a holly hedge, you have a choice of several fine varieties. The European holly, Ilex aquifolium, has not been excelled for luster of foliage or size and quality of berries. But except in the Far West and in some parts of the South, it cannot he 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 do not 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 which soon lose their color; Ilex pernyi, a small-leaved form which does not bear heavily; and the spineless, dainty yaupon, Ilex vomitoria, which 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 individual 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 assembled wild seedlings. Each seedling follows a growth pattern of its own, often astonishingly different from that of its neighbors. A line of such seedlings may become a good hedge but more likely a hodgepodge.
The farther north the hedge is to be planted, the more important it is to seek a specialist’s advice before planting.
In order to bear berries, the hedge must consist of female (pistillate) hollies. It is also necessary to plant within a rod or two a male (staminate) tree for every 10 or 15 yards of 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. It is best to treat these staminate trees as specimens, allowing them to grow as large and as fast as they will.
Hollies must not be set too close together in the hedge or they will enfeeble each other by crowding. A spacing of 4 or 5 feet is hest, although in a deep, rich soil 3 feet may be enough. The roots prefer silt or loam. They thrive well in sand but often assume an inferior yellow color. For success in a clay soil, quantities of sand and peat must be dug in to a depth of 2 or 3 feet and mixed with the clay.
In the South manure may be given; in the 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 dug in around the roots is helpful, as is a mulch or cultivation while the plants are young.
Transplanting
In the South the season of transplanting is less important 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 of the native holly’s natural range, April is the only month. For April transplanting, it is advisable to prepare the soil in the fall; in spring a 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. nursery should be made in the fall also, as the choicest varieties are not too plentiful.
A well-grown holly hedge will be a source of great pleasure for years to come. But don’t cut the branches too severely for Christmas decoration. With proper handling your hedge will double in beauty and value each year, brightening up your winter garden with its bright red berries and beautiful waxy green leaves and bringing Christmas joy into your own home and many others.
by N Gearling – 62842
