a hundred years. Its roots seem to harm the lawn 
or adjoining planting less than those of most hedges. 
Try a Holly hedge, you will like it. 
15. At What Age Does Holly 
Begin to Bear? 
‘This is hard to answer because a Hol/y tree in 
good ground often grows much faster and_ bears 
berries in one-half the time of one in poor ground. 
U. S. Bulletin No. 1693, ‘Growing Christmas 
Holly on the Farm,” says: “Plants may first bear 
flowers at an age between five and twelve years.” 
| find that the average Holly is about ten years 
old before it bears many berries, and that the heavy 
bearing ten-foot tree is about fifteen years old. 
16. My Holly Tree Blooms 
Every Year. Why Does It 
Not Bear Berries? 
You probably have a male tree. Both male and 
female trees bloom, the male often the heaviest. 
One can tell the sex at blooming time. The female 
or berry tree has the solitary blossoms on single 
stems, while the male or non-berry tree always has 
the solitary blossom on single stems in multiple, like 
cherries, two, three or four in a cluster. 
If your tree is a female tree, but does not produce 
berries, then there is a lack of the fertilizing pollen 
and a male tree should be planted. 
17. Why Am I Advised to Buy 
Transplanted Holly? 
Holly from the wild is hard to make live because 
of its poor root system. Most people are surprised 
to learn that Ho//y trees in their native woods often 
have root systems that reach out almost twice as far 
as the height of the tree. Such trees when moved 
have a large part of their root system cut off. [llus- 
tration No. 5. 
Nursery grown, transplanted Hollies have a mass 
of fine, short roots and are much easier to make 
live. In fact, our nursery grown, three or four 
times transplanted Hollies are proving much safer 
to move than many of our so-called common ever- 
greens. Illustration No. 6. 
When you buy Holly it will pay you to be sure 
that it has been nursery grown and several times 
transplanted. 
