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The beautiful evergreen foliage and bright red berries make holly a popular plant in holiday arrangements and our winter landscape.
Besides its beauty this plant has been a popular part of folklore and myths for centuries. The early Romans sent boughs of holly to friends and families during their celebrations of the winter solstice.
Many families planted holly around their homes to protect them from lightening, poisoning and mischievous spirits.
Add a few hollies to your landscape. Select a hardy variety suited to the growing conditions. Most hollies prefer full sun to part shade and moist well-drained acidic soil. Then provide some protection from drying winter sun and wind that can cause the leaves to brown.
The deciduous winterberry holly loses its leaves over winter but the bright red fruit are sure to brighten any winter landscape. Hardy in zones 3 to 9 this shrub combines nicely with evergreens, ornamental grasses and other stars of the winter landscape.
A bit more information: You need at least one male for every five female hollies for fruit to develop. Look for male plants listed as good pollinators for the female hollies you select. Some growers plant a male and female plant in the same container to insure you have both sexes. Only problem, if one dies, you must look at the flowers to determine which gender survived and which one needs replacing.
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