I'm guessing you're considering Ilex aquifolium - English holly - as the "plain" holly. For plain holly in this country, you're better off with Ilex opaca - American holly - which is a native tree (that is disappearing in the wild and not used often enough in cultivation, IMO) that grows into a beautiful evergreen tree. Female Ilex opaca have berries - usually red - if a male holly is present.
Ilex verticillata - winterberry holly - is a native deciduous shrub. The females are covered with red berries throughout the winter - or until the birds (and deer) eat them - hence the name. I use them in spots along the Stone Stream, to help drink up excess water.
Of course, since I only started planting them last year, they're a couple of years away from actually serving this purpose, at best! =)
I have yet to find a good supplier for Ilex opaca - I have two surviving and two that died from one supplier (seedlings, so gender unknown); Forest Farm has a few cultivars, but mainly yellow or orange berries, and not often with a male cultivar needed to get those berries. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.musserforests.com</a>Musser</a> doesn't carry them, although I'm hoping they pick them up - they'd be able to supply the quantity I'd like in at a good price.
They'll do good mixed throughout the yard, and will provide variety where the hemlocks threaten to become monoculture - nothing else will really grow into a good screen in the shade of the woods; technically the American holly only provide that screen when younger; when they mature they open up and actually let a lot of light through.
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Date: 2007-03-25 03:35 pm (UTC)I'm guessing you're considering Ilex aquifolium - English holly - as the "plain" holly. For plain holly in this country, you're better off with Ilex opaca - American holly - which is a native tree (that is disappearing in the wild and not used often enough in cultivation, IMO) that grows into a beautiful evergreen tree. Female Ilex opaca have berries - usually red - if a male holly is present.
Ilex verticillata - winterberry holly - is a native deciduous shrub. The females are covered with red berries throughout the winter - or until the birds (and deer) eat them - hence the name. I use them in spots along the Stone Stream, to help drink up excess water.
Of course, since I only started planting them last year, they're a couple of years away from actually serving this purpose, at best! =)
I have yet to find a good supplier for Ilex opaca - I have two surviving and two that died from one supplier (seedlings, so gender unknown); Forest Farm has a few cultivars, but mainly yellow or orange berries, and not often with a male cultivar needed to get those berries. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.musserforests.com</a>Musser</a> doesn't carry them, although I'm hoping they pick them up - they'd be able to supply the quantity I'd like in at a good price. They'll do good mixed throughout the yard, and will provide variety where the hemlocks threaten to become monoculture - nothing else will really grow into a good screen in the shade of the woods; technically the American holly only provide that screen when younger; when they mature they open up and actually let a lot of light through.