Holly was a staple in the nursery trade in the 1940s and ’50s. Breeders created more than 1,000 types, such as variegated Steward’s Silver Crown, with marbled leaves of creamy-yellow and green.
Somewhere along the way, holly lost its luster. But many varieties exist that will do well in central Ohio soils.
American holly, Ilex opaca, is about as tough as it is pretty.
Holly needs slightly acidic soil (5.5 to 6.5 pH), good drainage, sunlight and protection from winter winds. But it handles situations that are less than ideal, making it suitable, with a little coaxing, for many central Ohio home landscapes.
Although deer generally shun holly as food, bucks can damage young American holly trees by rubbing their antlers on branches. Fencing may be needed in deer country.
When planting hollies, be sure to plant a male and a female plant. Otherwise you won’t get the characteristic red berries.
If you have bought a house older hollies, they might need care. Hollies, as they age, can become extremely thin on the inside. Otherwise, they are healthy.
Gardeners can make hollies fuller by doing two things: tip-pruning the stems late in winter before new growth begins and gentle thinning of the plants to allow light to reach the interior of the plants.
Tip pruning is exactly what it says. Go over the plant and trim off the tips of stems. This forces growth to the lateral, or side, buds and encourages a fuller plant.
If plants need extra encouragement, do some gentle thinning of stems to open the interior of the plant to sunlight. To thin, go over the plant and select stems to cut back to the next branch. It should create a billowy effect, the same as you want boxwoods to have.
If your plants require reduction of height for safety reasons, do this in October, by which time the plants will be approaching dormancy and unlikely to put out new growth that could be damaged should there be an early deep freeze.
If your plants are obviously mature, they have robust root systems that should generate excellent growth next spring, especially if you use a slow-release fertilizer formulated for hollies and other acid-loving plants.
Avoid shearing stems to the same length all over, which encourages growth at the tips and reduces it along the interior of the stems.
