Ilex aquifolium

The widely known traditional English Holy (Ilex aquifolium) increases in beauty in age. A slow-growing, long-lived evergreen with pyramidal growth habit, it generally takes about 20 years to reach 5 m tall and 2-3 m wide in the southern hemisphere although it is capable to obtaining a height of 15 m under ideal conditions. Lustrous, dark green leaves have spiny, wavy margin; as the tree increase in height spines are largely absent. Holly plants are either male or female; to obtain berries, both sexes must be planted – or purchase a female plant with grafted male branch. A very sturdy cold-climate plant capable of withstanding extreme cold it also does well in temperate districts but does not berry as lavishly or color as well.

English Holly prefers rich acid well draining soil, ample watering, especially during hot summers. A mulching of peat moss assists in keeping roots cool. Position’s in sun or partial shade away from underground pipes. This most accommodating plant will form a tough barrier provide a complete screen or shelter may be kept clipped as a hedge or used as a specimen in a garden where it can be shaped and trimmed or allowed to become tree-like. Its neat, shapely appearance and slow growth makes the English Holly an idea container plant propagated by seed or cuttings in spring. Numerous varieties are available and some of them variegated.