This week: American Holly for the Holiday Season
Hello!
A quick reminder that on Saturday, December 7, I’ll be at the Swissvale Night of Lights Holiday Market from 4-7 pm, peddling garden-themed gifts. The market is indoors at 7400 Irvine St. in Pittsburgh (Swissvale Fire Hall). Hope to see you there!
Speaking of the holidays, let’s talk about one of my favorite evergreens: American Holly (Ilex opaca). While it sounds like a shrub, it is a slow-growing, long-lived tree, reaching 100 feet tall after 100 or more years. However, you’re more likely to find them growing between 20 to 50 feet tall in landscapes and the wild, and it has been cultivated into shrubbier dwarf selections. While it is present in many eastern and midwestern states, American Holly is more abundant in the coastal north and southeastern U.S.
American Holly produces white flowers in the spring that emerging beneficial insects visit for pollen. It also supports over 40 butterflies and moths. In the fall, it produces red berries that overwintering birds consume (rumor is that birds wait until the berries ferment a little before consuming). It also provides cover for birds and small woodland mammals.
Holly Lore
Since Roman times, people have used holly branches and berries to decorate their homes for winter holidays, and folklore offers other uses: Pliny the Elder reported that planting holly near the house would protect it from lightning and witches. The Druids and Celts also believed in its protective powers—so much so that cutting a holly down would bring bad luck. It became a Christmas decoration in European homes and was even the Christmas Tree of Choice in England. When the Massachusetts Bay Colony settlers arrived in New England, they “discovered” a holly-lookalike growing in their midst and used it for their holiday decor.
Holly in American Landscape Design
American Holly was also popular in colonial landscape design because it could be sheered into shapes or left as a tree. George Washington had several planted at Mount Vernon. (Here’s an old, undated photo of an old, undated American Holly at Mount Vernon.)
Sadly, it fell out of favor in home landscapes in the 20th century and was replaced by the less ecologically beneficial Asian Ilex cornuta or European Ilex aquifolium. If you’re adding American Holly to your home landscape, use it as a year-round privacy screen or sound buffer. You’ll need male and female plants to set berries, so ensure you have space for a few trees.
Elsewhere:
This week’s episode of The Allegheny Front featured segments on four disease-endangered native trees: Hemlock, Elm, Chestnut, and Beech. Lots of interesting science is happening!
Have a great week!
Julie