If you promise me A HOLLIES, it will be the hollies you get. It is a visual promise through its glossy-green foliage, bold lines against a winter sky, and red fruit that shouts “It’s the Holidays!” But it is also a plant you have to grow in.
You must understand its pace and allow time for things to develop properley, whether as a hedge or a lone specimen. You also need to know what stage you are at to judge success (or not!). That’s what this chart spells out: First thing is first, underground infrastructure, not height, during the early years.
How to Grow a Holly Tree
The thing about a holly is that most of us rate it on how it looks the first year, which is where you get tripped up. The first few years are all about rooting in the ground; the top won’t grow much. Six inches the first year; oh no, you think, what have I got here? No worries. Third year, as the root system fires up, things start accelerating, inching closer and closer to eight to a dozen a year. But slow is slow.
Real reward occur at perhaps year five or even after, when those initial red fruits finally arrive, and tree begins thickening up all along its branches. Prepare yourself for this timeline, and know that you don’t buy holly to get instant fullness. For that, holly isn’t it. For a gradual, decades-long maturing of the landscape, however, it’s just right.
This brings us to species selection. Which one will work best? Fast growers like the Burfordiis (or not at all) aren’t different than the slow ones, like American Holly. The photo reference makes that point clearly, and American types take forever, perhaps a foot a year in growth, but reach massive heights and is longer-lived than the others, by far.
English Holly is glossy and dense, but again: patience is required. And then there are your speed demons, such as the Foster or Nellie R. Stevens Hollies zoom upward two to three feet per year. They is great for building a quick privacy screen, but they are not nearly as permanent as their slower cousins. So what’s most important to you: speed or longevity?
Once a tree is planted, there are two things you cannot compromise on regarding sun: no berries without sun. A holly tree in deep shade will get by, yes… But will have few (if any) fruit. That’s the deal that most folks don’t get. Want heavy berries? Want shade tolerant? Nature doesn’t give you both.
Soil acidity should ideally be about pH 5.0 to 6.5. A holly in alkaline soil will turn yellow because it lacks iron and starves itself. Mulch makes a big difference. Keeping mulch at least three inches thick helps keep the soil cool and roots moist. This is particularly important in hot, humid summer weather, when sunlight dries out the root zone more quickly than you can water it again.
Pests are annoying but not usually the end of the world. Spider mites love it dry and dusty; a good blast with the hose can do more good than spraying with chemicals. Hollies also has scale insects that show up as bumps on stems covered with wax.
The greater danger is often neglect. Don’t let the soil around hollies get compacted, which can suffocate roots. Also, don’t underwater them when they are young, whether at planting time or any time after.
Early spring, right before new growth begins, is prime pruning time for hollies. This is good because the cuts remove winter damage while still leaving time for tree to spend energy on this season’s display. The cutbacks will also shape the tree.
HOLLY: An investment in the long term It’s the kind of plant that will probably outlast your deck, or fence, maybe even your house, so growing holly is also a lesson in thinking long term. That’s what I pay to get in on all those centuries; the first slow part of the package could of been called the price of admission.
Do what you can to buy the right one for where you live, provide an acid-loving spot and some sun, and leave the rest to the roots. Height will follow… And so will the berries.
If you’re patient enough, you’ll have a classic pyramidal form standing as a sign of your patience in its thirtieth year as much as in its fifth, still as vibrant as ever.