Voice of the Mid-Columbia | Kennewick, Pasco and Richland, Wash. |
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closeSaturday, Dec. 13, 2008
Deck the halls with an American cultivar this year
By Marianne C. Ophardt, Special to the Herald
KENNEWICK -- When the Pilgrims arrived in Massachusetts the week before Christmas in 1620, they found a plant that reminded them of the holiday season they were missing back home (according to the U. S. Forest Service in their Silvics of North America).
The plant they discovered was American holly (Ilex opaca) which strongly resembled the English or European holly (Ilex aquifolium).
English holly has been associated with the Christmas and used for holiday decorating for many centuries. The American holly looked very similar to the English holly with its prickly leaves and red berries.
The use of English holly in connection with a winter holiday even predates Christian tradition, going all the way back to the times of the druids and pagan Romans who associated holly with the god Saturn. Holly was used to celebrate the Feast of Sol Invictus on Dec. 25. This special day was to honor the return of the sun and increasing day length. Holly later became part of Christmas holiday legends and decorating traditions.
American holly is native to the eastern part of the U.S. from Massachusetts to Florida, thriving in the mild and humid regions of the southeast. In its native range, American holly tends to grow best as an understory tree in deciduous forests. In the home landscape it can be placed in partial shade and full sun, except for areas like ours that have extremely low humidity, intense summer sun and very high summer temperatures. In this part of Washington, it's best to locate the plants where they'll be protected from heat and afternoon sunlight.
American and English hollies are dioecious. This means some plants are male and only produce male flowers and some plants are female and only produce female flowers. For fruit to develop, female flowers must be pollinated by pollen from male flowers. If you plant a female holly you also need to plant a male holly nearby to get decorative red berries on the female. The male must be within 200 feet of the female for the bees to provide adequate pollination. If that isn't practical in your landscape situation, you may want to consider one of the grafted plants that can be found at some nurseries. Male wood is grafted onto the female plant so one plant can produce both female and male flowers on different branches.
English and American hollies are members of the holly family (Aquifoliaceae) and belong in the same genus (Ilex) along with 400 other species. The native form of the American holly grows into a 30- to 50-foot pyramidal tree. That's too big for most home landscapes, so plant breeders have developed a number of different cultivars that vary in plant size and shape, in berry color and in foliage form and color.
Clarendon is a shrub dwarf form growing to only 8 feet tall with a wider spread. Maryland Dwarf is even smaller with a height of 3 feet and a spread of 10 feet, but it produces few berries.
Howard is a cultivar for gardeners who don't like messing with the spiny leaves of holly.
Steward's Silver Crown produces leaves edged with creamy white.
Are holly berries poisonous? Yes, but they are not considered extremely toxic unless eaten in quantity. Because they are poisonous, they should be considered dangerous to small children.
English holly has been planted commercially in the Pacific Northwest for decorative floral uses. While it's not yet classified as a noxious weed on the Washington State Noxious Weed List, it has become a serious concern in natural areas, mostly in Western Washington counties. Consider planting Merserve hybrid hollies, such as Berry Magic, China Boy, China Girl, Blue Boy, Blue Girl and Ebony Magic. These all are more dense than English holly. Do not plant them in full sun.
* Marianne C. Ophardt is a horticulturist for the Washington State University Extension Office in Benton County. Read more of Ophardt's Garden Tips columns at www.tricityherald.com/ophardt.
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