CULTIVATION 
During the first two or three years the soil 
about the plant should be kept mellow by hoe¬ 
ing or better still by mulching with leaves, 
lawn clippings, or peat moss. Water should be 
given during dry weather until the little tree 
is well established. 
FERTILIZER 
A light application of fertilizer in April or 
May of each year will be beneficial. Ask your 
county agent or skilled local gardener what 
fertilizer he would advise for acid loving plants 
in your type of soil. 
GROWTH 
Small holly plants are frequently sprawly. 
Don’t worry if the new growth on yours flops 
sideways the first season or two. A new shoot 
will start at the bend and carry the growth up¬ 
ward. If you prefer, however, you can set a 
stake by the plant and keep it straight by tying 
to the stake. 
It is a mistaken idea that holly is of slow 
growth. Under favorable conditions it fre¬ 
quently increases in height from one to three 
feet in a summer. Some of our holly plants, 
even the little ones from 3-inch pots, will have 
a few berries the very first season. Others will 
grow fast for two or three years and then start 
berry production. It depends on the tree from 
which the cutting was taken and on the grow¬ 
ing conditions. 
MALE AND FEMALE 
Holly berries are borne only by the female 
holly trees. Sometimes berries are produced 
with no male or pollen tree in the vicinity, but 
you will be much more certain of abundant 
crops of large berries that stay on until spring 
if there is a pollen holly within a few hundred 
feet. One male holly will insure the berry crop 
of a whole grove of trees. 
Have you a holly tree now which never bears 
berries? Examine the flowers. If each grows 
singly on a little stem of its own you have a 
