358 
THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 
THE 
GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 
OF AMERICA. 
Published by 
THE CHRONICLE PRESS, Inc. 
Office of Publication 
286 FIFTH AVE., NEW YORK 
MARTIN C. EBEL, Editor 
EDITORIAL OFFICES— MADISON, N. J. 
Subscription Price, 12 Months, $1.50 
Foreign, $2.00 
Entered as second class matter Nov. 3, 1914, at the Post Office at New 
York, N. Y., under the Act of March 3, 1879. 
Published on the 15th of each month. 
Advertising forms close on the 1st preceding publication. 
For advertising rates apply to 286 Fifth Ave., New York, N. Y. All edi- 
torial matter should be addressed to M. C. Ebel, Editor, Madison, N. J. 
OFFICIAL ORGAN OF 
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF GARDENERS 
President, Vice-President, Treasurer, 
W. N. CRAIG, THEO. VVIRTH, JAMES STUART, 
Brookline, Mass. Minneapolis, Minn. Mamaroneck. N. Y. 
Secretary, MARTIN C. EBEL, Madison, N. J. 
TRUSTEES FOR 1916. 
Peter Duff, Orange N. J.; William H. Duckham, Madison, N. J.; William 
Turner, Bernardsvillt, N. J.; William Kleinheinz, Ogontz, Pa.; John F. 
Huss, Hartford, Conn. 
DIRECTORS. 
To serve until 1917 — Win. Hertrick, San Gabriel, Cal. ; Robert Angus, 
Tarrytown, N. Y. ; Robert Bottomley, New Canaan, Conn.; Alex. Fraser, 
Newport, R. I.; Arthur Smith, Reading, Pa.; Thomas W. Head, Lake 
Forest, 111.; L. P. Tensen, St. Louis, Mo. 
To serve until 1918 — William H. Waite, Rumson, N. J.; William J. 
Kennedy, Chestnut Hill, Mass.; Edward Kirk, Bar Harbor, Me.; John W. 
Johnston, Glen Cove, N. Y. ; Carl N. Fohn, Colorado Springs, Colo.; Peter 
ohnson, Dallas, Tex.; Thomas Proctor, Lenox, Mass. 
To serve until 1919— John W. Everitt, Glen Cove, N. Y.: Thomas W. 
Logan, Jenkintown, Pa., Robert Cameron, Cambridge, Mass.; John Canning, 
Ardsley, N. Y. ; A. Bauer, Deal Beach, N. J.; David Fraser, Pittsburgh, Pa.; 
George W. Hess, Washington, D. C. 
OFFICIAL ORGAN OF 
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PARK SUPERINTENDENTS 
President, 
EMIL T. MISCHE, 
Portland, Ore. 
J. W. THOMPSON. 
Seattle, Wash. 
JOHN F. WALSH, 
New York, N. Y. 
Vice-Presidents, 
ALEX. STUART, 
Ottawa, Ont. 
E. P. GRIFFIN, 
East St. Louis, 111. 
Secretary -Treasurer, 
ROLAND W. COTTERILL, 
Seattle, Wash. 
L. P. JENSEN, 
St. Louis, Mo. 
EUG. V. GOEBEL, 
Grand Rapids, Mich. 
Vol. XX 
August. 1916. 
No. 8. 
THE HOLLIES AND THEIR CULTIVATION 
HP HE various kinds of Hollies are unquestionably 
among the most useful of all evergreens, for they ex- 
hibit a considerable diversity of habit and foliage and 
there are many uses to which they may be put. Their 
natural position is an undergrowth to oak woods, and in 
such places examples 30 feet to SO feet high, which have 
trunks a foot or more in diameter, may be met with. But 
they are equallv adapted for planting in full sun, and are 
at home as isolated specimens or as clumps. Some kinds 
are excellent for planting as lawn specimens, while no 
better evergreen hedge plant can be found than the com- 
mon Holly for general planting, although some of the 
broad-leaved kinds, such as Hodginsii or Shepherdii, 
stand better in the vicinity of the sea. 
Although the various Hollies lend themselves so well 
to general cultivation, they are decidedly difficult to estab- 
lish unless a few points regarding transplanting are ob- 
served. When the roots are to be pulled about to any 
considerable extent, it is necessary that transplanting 
should be done either during late April or early May, or 
in August or early September. At these times the vitality 
of the plants is most pronounced and Nature commences 
at once to repair injuries, whereas, if the roots are dis- 
turbed in the dead of winter, they lie dormant for several 
months in cold soil, and the plants often suffer severely. 
Another point which is worth considering at planting- 
time is the reduction of the branch system to counter- 
balance the injury done to the roots, and it will be noticed 
that if a few branches are removed or shortened, the 
plants will be greatly benefited. Deep planting must also 
be avoided, for the most vigorous plants are those which 
have their feeding roots near the surface of the soil. 
Should the weather be dr\ at planting time, the trees 
must not only be well watered when planted, but syringed 
overhead twice a day for a few weeks. A surface dress- 
ing of decayed leaves will also do good. If by any means 
a large ball of soil can be moved attached to the roots the 
work may be done at almost any time ; in fact, plants can 
be moved any month in the year, but in such a case the 
roots are scarcely disturbed. 
The propagation of Hollies may be effected in one of 
three ways. All species may be increased by seeds, which 
take a long while to germinate, often from one to two 
years. Cuttings of half-ripe shoots of species and vari- 
eties inserted in sandy soil under a hand-light, or in a 
cold frame in Jul} or August, will root the following 
spring, while fancy kinds may be budded or grafted upon 
stocks of the type. The latter, however, is not a plan to 
be generally adopted, unless in the case of those varieties 
which have weeping branches, for there is great danger 
of the stock growing and spoiling the scion. In some 
gardens the practice obtains of clipping Hollies into 
formal cones, and the smoother the surface of the plant 
the more perfect is it considered to be. Some people de- 
scribe this clipping as pruning and appear to consider it 
to be quite the correct treatment ; but anything more 
hideous than these closely clipped plants it is difficult to 
imagine. The best plants are those which assume the 
form of the best woodland examples, and any necessary 
pruning should take the form of thinning out the branches 
rather than clipping. 
One item which often causes dissatisfaction is the fail- 
ure of certain plants to produce fruit, and the fact does 
not appear to be generally understood that certain exam- 
ples bear male flowers only and others produce female 
flowers only. While, however, the former plants never 
bear fruit, a female plant may do so even though there 
be no male plant near, although few of the seeds will be 
fertile. Those seeds which are perfect probably owe their 
fertility to insect agency. 
As is very well known, the common Holly (Ilex Aqui- 
folium) is composed of a large number of varieties, some 
of which have been cultivated under one name or another 
for upwards of a century. They exhibit a great diversity 
of habit, some being as vigorous as, or more so than, the 
type, while others rarely exceed a few feet in height. 
Some, again, have pendulous branches, others large or 
very small leaves ; some have variegated foliage, others 
are distinguished by their very spiny or almost spineless 
leaves, while in still other instances the varieties are dis- 
tinguished by the color of the fruits. In selecting varie- 
gated varieties, it is always better to choose those with 
the variegation about the margins of the leaves rather 
than those with green margins and colored centers, for 
thev do not revert to the type so readily as the latter. — ■ 
The Garden. 
