Bye-Bye Mr. Holly!

One of my new year’s resolutions is to say hasta la vista to plants that return little, for the amount of space and care demanded.  One of the first freeloaders targeted was a male holly bush.  I know, I know, you need both male and female hollies to get baby berries.  But to reserve a chunk of valuable garden space just for ‘big daddy’ to do his thing a few weeks of the year, seemed a miserable return on the investment.  Was I glad to discover new hollies with BOTH male and female plants grown in the same container.  Two for the price of one!  Now I can have masses of gorgeous red berries on EVERY bush in the landscape.  The Berri-Magic series and ‘Berrific’ have been hot sellers at the garden center where I work.

These berry-laden beauties are in the meserveae species, the hardiest of the hollies.  They have glossy, blue-green leaves with purple stems.  Depending on the cultivar, mature heights range from 6’ to 12’ but are easily pruned to maintain the desired height.   Hollies do best in sun to part sun.

My dog, Zoe, fancies the beautiful female holly but snubs the male in the background.  Smart dog.

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