Check with your nursery owner about whether the hollies you are buying need both male and female plants to set fruit. Containerized plants can be set out at any time, but early fall is best. Common pests on hollies are scale, bud moth, red mites and leafminers. Root rot diseases are a problem with several Japanese cultivars. They are usually 3 to 10 feet high, with a similar spread and look more like a boxwood than a holly.
Japanese hollies tolerate severe pruning.
Many cultivars are available. Roundleaf' is a male selection that does not produce berries. Plants grow 5 to 10 feet tall and 5 to 12 feet wide. Burfordii' or Burford holly grows to 20 feet tall and wide. Rotunda' or Dwarf Chinese holly grows only to 3 to 4 feet tall and 6 to 8 feet wide.