Evening star., 1951-12-16
Seasonal Holly


hardly complete without q holly
wreath, that is why car loads of
holly grown In Washington and
Oregon are shipped into the East
each winter. Here in the WASH
ington area we can grow our own
holly, enjoying its lovely ever
green foliage throughout the year
and the brightly -colored berries at
Christmas time. When the trees
gain little size. 6 to 10 feet, they
provide an ample supply of berried
twigs from which to make sprays,
wreaths and other decorations.
The American holly is native to
this region. We seldom walk
through the woods without en-
countering it. It is seldom found
in dry wind-swept situations, at
least it does not thrive under those
conditions, but 1t will grow in full
sun if given protection from strong
winds.
The holly is dioeciouS and that
means we must have both a male
for pollen and a female tree to
produce the display of fruit each
year. They usually start fruiting
at 4 to 5 feet in height. More
often than not we will find suf-
f1cient male trees in the neighbor-
hood to take care of the cross
polarization. If there is space in
the yard for a group Of hollies, it
Is desirable that one be a male
tree. The only exception to this
rule is the English holly. Some
varieties of the English holly bear
both male and female flowers.
AS indicated, the hollies thrive
In a moist soil and whether we
grow them in sun or shade, they
should be planted in a soil lib
orally supplied with leafmold,
compost or peatmoss. 1t might
well be worked IL to 18 inches
deep into the soil to insure ample
moisture as well as the acid soil
condition needed.
Plant i'm the Spring.
Holly trees are best planted in
the early spring. Even then it
is wise to buy nursery-grown trees
to be certain that they are berry,
bearing females. Also, trees from
the nursery have compact root
systems and are not likely to suf-
Ter a severe shock when trans
planted. Regardless or whether a
nursery-grown tree or wilding is
planted, 1t is wise to strip all but
the tip leaves to reduce evapora-
tion until the roots are function
ing.
Keep the soil low near the
trunk. this has the effect of plant
ing the holly in a depression. This
is to carry rainfall into the soil
about the roots rather than away
from them. Here again we have
an exception. To do this in tight
clay soils with little or no subsoil
drainage, would be to have the
holly growing in a pool and of
course they are not aquatics. In
such q situation we can neither
plant them In o soil filled with
humus, nor can we plant them in
Q water holding pocket.
After planting, all holiies should
be deeply mulched with humus of
some kind-leafmold, compost,
pine needles. sawdust. peatmoss,
etc. This should be repeated
each spring or fall so that the
soil win be cool. moist. and well
supplied with humus. These three
points are simple enough, and in
a protected situation will insure
good growth.
Pruning in the Winter.
The pruning of hollies is best
practiced in the winter when the
twigs can be used in holiday deco
rations. At first the prunings
should be small. II taken from all
over the tree. they will keep it
compact and twiggy. thus produc-
ing the most attractive appear
ance. AS the tree gains in size
and supplies more material than
can be used in the home, the an
nual pruning can be made first
on one side and then another.
The holly may be trained to tree
form or to bush form. Some pre-
fer the tree; others the shrub
form. The shrub form usually
makes the most attractive ap-
pearance in a foundation plant
ing. The tree form is useful, es-
pecially where the lower limbs are
retained and the outline is that
of a triangle with the base resting
on the ground.
Most hollies grow without much
thought on the part of the owner
of disease or insect pests. We have
both. but they are easily con-
trolled. use the same duet COM
bination on my hollieS that do
on my roses and it keeps them free
of leaf spot and the hollyleaf
miner. the two most common
troubles. A few duStingS or spray.