Holly

About Holly

Evergreen hollies are tough shrubs and trees for hedges, screens and foundation plantings. American holly is the native Christmas holly with spiny leaves and red berries; Japanese holly and native inkberry have small, spineless leaves and black berries and are often used in place of boxwood. Most hollies come as male and female plants, so berries form only on females with a male nearby (Clemson, NC State). Deciduous winterberry has its own page.

American holly grows in zones 5-9, Japanese holly in 5-8 (it may struggle in hot, humid Southern summers) and inkberry in 4-11 (NC State).

When to plant

Timing is counted from your average last spring frost (and first fall frost). Sow & Tell works out the actual dates for your ZIP code.

Container hollies can go in at any time, but early fall is best (Clemson). For berries, plant a male of the same kind near the females; Chinese holly is one of the few that berries without a male.

Soil

Well-drained, slightly acid soil rich in organic matter; American and Japanese hollies turn yellow in alkaline soil, while inkberry tolerates wet spots (Clemson, NC State).

Work organic matter into well-drained, slightly acid soil and test the soil first (Clemson).

Feeding

• Spring to early summer after new growth starts, only if a soil test shows a need: slow-release complete fertilizer in a 3:1:2 ratio, or what the soil test calls for. Spread evenly from the trunk out to the drip line and water it in; a typical soil-test rate for shrubs is about 2 lb of 12-6-6 per 100 sq ft (Clemson). Follow a soil test.

Water is what new shrubs need most: daily for the first 2 weeks, every 2-3 days through week 12, then weekly until the roots spread (at least two growing seasons), using about a quarter to a third of the nursery pot's volume each time (UMN). Extra nitrogen can cut berry set on hollies (Clemson); hollies may flush new growth after late-season feeding, so give only part of the year's amount then (Clemson).

Harvest

Small greenish-white flowers open April to June; berries ripen in fall and last into winter on female plants. Japanese hollies take hard pruning, and inkberry 'Compacta' can be sheared to a 2-foot hedge (Clemson, NC State).

Varieties (17)

Pests to watch for

Scale insects, Twospotted spider mite, Whiteflies, Aphids, Deer

Diseases and problems

Root rot, Leaf scorch, Holly leaf blight, Winter injury, Girdling roots

In the kitchen

Safety: NC State rates hollies low in toxicity: eating the berries can cause vomiting and diarrhea, so keep children from snacking on them. NC State also rates American holly and inkberry as highly flammable, so keep them away from the house in wildfire areas.

Pets: Toxic to dogs, cats and horses (ASPCA): saponins cause vomiting, diarrhea and depression; the leaves and berries are of low toxicity.