All the Hollies Worth Growing—By Wilhelm Miller, 
New 
Jersey 
HOW TO GROW AMERICAN HOLLY OUTDOORS IN THE NORTH AND HAVE ITS RED BERRIES WARMING 
OUR HOME GROUNDS ALL WINTER—THE BEST SPECIES 
[Eprror’s Note—This is the thirteenth of those “Little Monographs,” discovering the comparative merits and limitations of the different species. 
graph” that has hitherto been the fashion is unreadable and useless, for no one can master a group in which the species are alphabetically arranged. 
The important and difficult thing is to show which species are the best, and why.] 
pedantry is cheap and easy. 
AP HERE can be no question as to what 
is the best red-berried shrub in the 
world. The English or European holly, 
has held first place in the hearts of mankind 
for untold centuries because its red 
berries last all winter and are set off by dark 
lustrous evergreen foliage. Moreover, it 
has a deep religious significance. The early 
Christians made wreaths of it, to symbolize 
the crown of thorns. At first it was called 
“‘Christ-thorn,” then “‘ Holy-tree,” and finally 
“holly.” It therefore suggests the inner 
meaning of the most important of all holidays. 
But, alas! English holly will not survive 
our Northern winters. Our Southern friends 
may enjoy it every day of the year, and, 
if you live near the Atlantic coast, you can 
get a few sprigs of it at Christmas time. 
Beautiful as it is, our American holly is 
not quite equal to the European species. 
The English holly has a richer, darker, and 
more lustrous leaf; with more life in it— 
more suggestion of immortality, of indomit- 
able courage. Its berries, also, are a trifle 
larger and richer. American holly has a 
duller leaf (whence the name opaca), but its 
berries are more abundant, and less hidden 
under the foliage. 
We ought to thank our stars that we have 
any holly at all, for the climate of the United 
States, north of Richmond and St. Louis, is 
hostile to ‘‘broad-leaved evergreens,” i. e. 
holly, laurel, etc., as opposed to pines and 
other narrow-leaved conifers. Yet I was 
never more surprised than when I learned 
that holly—real holly, with red berries on it— 
actually grows wild to-day as far north as 
A fair sample of ordinary well-berried holly. (lex 
opaca). No special care in shipping 
Maine. The reason why everybody uncon- 
sciously assumes that holly is exclusively 
Southern is that our Christmas supply comes 
chiefly from southern Delaware and Mary- 
land. But that is only because the holly- 
pickers have exhausted the available supply 
in the states to the north. 
The important fact is that we can have 
holly berries all winter in our home grounds, 
as far north as New York, and _ possibly 
even at Boston—but only on three conditions: 
t. We must get both staminate and 
pistillate plants. 
2. We must remove all the leaves when 
we plant them. 
3. Wemust place them in partial shade 
where they will be protected from north- 
west winds and winter sunshine. 
This is no idle theory. On May 4th, 
1905, I had the pleasure of picking holly 
berries off some cultivated holly trees be- 
longing to Mr. James Wood, of Mount Kisco, 
N. Y., and I give my word of honor that the 
berries were as bright and plump as any one 
could wish. They had remained scarlet 
six months! 
Unfortunately no way is known by which 
any nurseryman can tell whether a given 
tree is staminate or pistillate until it flowers, 
by which time it is too large to be sold cheaply 
and transplanted easily. The common way 
is to buy half a dozen trees, hoping that one 
of them will be staminate and the rest pis- 
tillate. Buy proved trees if you can, even 
if it costs more, and put your staminate tree 
in an inconspicuous position, as it does not 
make as symmetrical a specimen. 
The reason why you have to strip off the 
leaves is that transplanting is a much greater 
shock to a broad-leaved evergreen than to 
any other plant. If you let the leaves stay 
on, the roots will not be able'to supply. sap as 
fast as it is evaporated by wind and sun. 
NALYSIS 
The genus Ilex contains 175 species, of 
which fourteen are worth growing. The 
paragraphs in which these are described are 
numbered to correspond with the ‘ Pur- 
chaser’s Guide,” on page 233, and the follow- 
ing analysis shows the main facts about them 
at a glance. 
Evergreen Species No. 
Hardy, med=bemredy ca eevnle ey. 
senders icc tice Pra vlan Say sumese oy, Uy Gon On \G/e 
Hardy, black-berried, ..2.-. sada Why Til 
Deciduous ~ 
Hardy, red-berricd, ... 2.0 Ss san. - 8, 9, 10, II. 
Hardy, orange-scarlet, ........... Tlie 
I. Red-berried Evergreens 
The three species first described are the 
only ones that can be properly called hollies, 
234 
FOR THE SOUTH AND CALIFORNIA ALSO 
The pretentious “ Mono- 
That sort of botanical 
since they are the only ones with red berries 
and spiny evergreen leaves. 
THE THREE TRUE HOLLIES 
t. English holly (lex Aquifoliwm). Only 
two important characteristics have not been 
given above. The leaf margins are usually 
deeper cut than in the American holly, and the 
spines a trifle longer. But the astonishing 
thing is the number of cultivated varieties— 
over 150 in Europe! Among these are 
varieties with orange or yellow fruit, pendulous 
or ascending branches, large or small leaves, 
and spineless or spiny foliage, but many of 
them are essentially variegated plants (the 
leaves being margined, splotched, or mottled 
with white or yellow), and these have little 
or no fruit. It is to be hoped that some one 
will make a good collection of these, growing 
enough of them in pots to exhibit in the winter 
at Washington, Baltimore, Cincinnati, or 
wherever they would be appreciated. 
2. Japanese holly (I. cornuta). The Far 
East contributes two hardy evergreen red- 
berried ilexes, but this is the only one with 
spiny: leaves. It can be instantly told by 
the three strong spines at the dilated apex 
of the leaf. It often happens that the middle 
spine turns down, and the two outer ones 
turn up, like horns, whence the name 
“‘cornuta”: In young specimens there are 
two or more weaker spines at the base, but 
these are lost as the shrub grows older. It 
is believed to have darker and glossier leaves 
than the American holly, and may prove hardy 
in New York in shelter and partial shade. 
It is not hardy at Boston. I do not know 
An extraordinaril, well-berried sprig as shipped from 
the South in small paper boxes 
