Hollies are male and female. One tree will have male or 
pollen-producing flowers; another, female. In the picture, 
male blossoms are in the upper part. Below notice the 
knob in the center of each female flower. This becomes 
the berry. 
USES OF HOLLIES 
By growing holly in congenial soil you will find that 
it has uses normally unsuspected. As “common holly” of 
the British Isles is considered in England to be the per- 
fect tree for hedges both ornamental and purposeful, so 
both English and American hollies possess those qualifi- 
cations for much of the vast area of the United States 
east of the Mississippi. 
Holly may be sheared formally or not and it may be 
kept at two or twelve feet in height. Close cropping re- 
duces the number of berries but makes a dense discour- 
aging barrier against man and animals. The ease with 
which holly is restricted by shearing leads to the belief 
that it would be a worthy subject for the topiarists art. 
For espaliering it is ideal. A fan shaped espalier or a 
conventional tree design as illustrated, can be produced 
by careful and lengthy training. The art is time consum- 
ing and exacting and one that is too little appreciated in 
America. 
Hollies lend themselves readily to a variety of other 
uses. As sentinels at the entrance they may be sheared 
to fastigiate compactness or permitted to grow delight- 
fully asymmetrical which is frequently their nature. Quite 
naturally hollies, because of their year round beauty, are 
on the preferred list of ornamental trees. Each one should 
be chosen for quality and desired characteristics for they 
are not like peas in a pod. Not only do they vary in 
color, size and shape of berry and leaf but also in general 
growth traits. 
More often holly is seen as a lawn specimen or as an 
interesting accent in foundation planting. Wherever used, 
if thought is given to the right species and variety for the 
purpose, the ultimate effect will always be pleasing 
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