Propagation of Ftolly 
The natural way to produce any plant or tree 
is from seed. Hollies may be produced in this 
manner but in so doing there is no assurance that 
the seedling when sprouted and grown will have 
the same leaf formation, color or berrying char- 
acteristics as the parent tree. It cannot even be 
said that the tree will be a male or female because 
Hollies have sex just like you and I and various 
sources indicate that it is quite likely that from 5 
to 10 male trees germinate to every female when 
grown from seed. Most Hollies require approxi- 
mately two years for the seeds to germinate so 
if it is your intention to attempt to grow any Holly 
seedlings be sure to plant them where they can be 
cared for over a 2 year period without being de- 
stroyed. 
The normal and practical way to produce Hol- 
lies is by grafting, budding or planting cuttings 
from the tree that you wish to reproduce. Be- 
cause there are both male and female Holly trees 
it is necessary to root cuttings from both sexes in 
order to have known male and female stock avail- 
able. Remember that it is the female tree that 
produces the berries. Carefully mark all your cut- 
tings so that at a later date you will know which 
is which. Cuttings from a female tree will produce 
another female tree when rooted and the same 
holds true of the male. 
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