Evening star., 1938-09-10

Its enemies are few In number and sc
The hollies are most frequently
they will serve just as effectively in
the shrub border or as hedge. They
are comparatively slow growers and
hence make a very good shrub Or
hedge plant. Fine, large specimens
are, of course, trees. In fact, most
horticultural writer's classify the
American holly as a tree, but those
most frequently seen in the yards
and parks here have been treated
as shrubs.
The American holly diex opaca)
Is only one member of large and
distinguished family. There are de-
ciduous hollies as well as the ever
green forms. There are hollies with
red berries, with black, yellow, brown
and even with white berries, and
one that does not produce fruit.
Some have glossy leaves and some
have no spines. The japanese holly
Is often used in place of lockwood
because of its small leaves. The
English holly is quite attractive be-
cause Of its large glossy leaves and
large red berries. In the South the
yaupon II. vomitoria is often used
as a hedge, where its yellow berries
and bright green leaves show to ad-
vantage. The English holly likewise
Is often used as hedge.
WHILE the hollies will take care
w of themselves when once estab-
lished. they have an undeserved rep
utation of being difficult to grow
because many have had trouble in
starting them, This difficulty prob
ably originated with those trying
to move wildings. 1t is a safer prac-
tice to buy a well-grown holly from
a nursery And, even then, to in
sist that it be dug with large ball
of dirt and carefully wrapped. But
that is only the start. When you
get it home be sure to dig a large,
roomy hole-yes, for even a small
plant After digging the hole dis
card half of the soil and replace with
well -rotted leafmold or peat moss
preferably leafmold from an oak
woods. Pine leafmold is also good.
Mix the leafmold and dirt together
and put plenty of it under the ball
as well as around it. Do not mound
the soil, but level it off-it is very
important that after the dirt has
settled that there be a depression
around the trunk Cor trunks OF the
holly. Water will then soak into the
roots. Hollies require lots of mois-
ture. especially until they are thor
oughly established.
Some gardeners cut newly trans
planted hollies back very severely
and pick off all of the remaining
leaves. For the home gardener who
is anxious to see just how his new
shrub will look it is safe enough to
remove only a part of the branches,
that Is, cut a third of them back to
4-inch stubs. The leaves should be
removed. Use the hose to keep the
ground moist and to moisten the
bark. Avoid lime near holly trees.
In more Northern areas hollies
are transplanted only in the spring.
In this area they are often success
fully transplanted in the fall. With
a mild winter, such as the last one,
hollies do very well when trans
planted In the fall
X X X X
G1NCE the holly is grown for its
~ berries as well as for its foliage
care must be taken to get pistillate
female tree), for they produce the
berries And, unless there is male
tree within a comparatively short
distance "a block or less) it will be
necessary to plant staminate
Cmale) tree also unless you can find
an enterprising nurseryman who has
grated branch from a staminate
tree on pistillate tree. This lat
ter is not often done and so we
usually plant hollies in groups, with
several pistillate and one staminate
tree in the group.
Perhaps you are a persevering
gardener who likes to grow your
own. Hollies may be propagated
from seed, from cuttings and by lay
ering. In some places and for spe-
cial types they are grated Graft
ing, however, Is of importance to
local gardeners for fertilization, and
only where there is room for but one
holly tree in the yard Seeds are
not particularly desirable for propa-
eating as they are slow to germinate
usually two years, and often three
or more years From seed you can
expect at least so per cent of the
seedlings to be pollen-bearing trees
and not berry-bearing. Cuttings
and layering are, therefore, the more
promising methods of propagation.
Cuttings are taken in the early
fall august to October) from ma
ture wood. They should be from
4 to 6 inches long. Remove all but
the top two or three leaves and put
into cutting frame where they can
be kept moist. The cutting frame
is best located in a partly shaded
spot where it will not dry out and
where the temperature does not ex-
ceed 10 to rs degrees. The soil in
the cutting frame is made from
equal parts of sand and peat moss
Of leaf mold. If there is room for a
layer of leaf mold below the propa-
eating soil the cuttings can be safely
left In the cutting frame for some
time after they have become rooted.
It is better to leave them for a
year. as then there is less danger of
breaking the brittle roots when
transplanting.
Plants from cuttings often bear
berries the third year and under
normal conditions in four or five
years. Cuttings from a tree which
is a berry-bearer make fine pot
plants.
Layering can be accomplished by
using a lower branch and making
a partial cut on the under side.
Cover the branch at the point of
the cut with mixture of sand and
peat moss and dirt to a depth of
at least 6 inches. It will take the
branch fully a year to develop a
root system. The branch may then
be severed from the parent tree, and |
1t is we'll to wait for another year