Native Hollies for Winter Color in North Georgia Gardens
Gray skies, bare trees, dead leaves, and brown grasses can indeed weigh down our spirits on winter days, but a spot of bright color in the garden can help us believe in the promise of spring. Native evergreen hollies, with their bright green leaves and red or dark berries can lighten one's outlook.
The commonest holly in our area, American holly (Ilex opaca), can be seen throughout the woods and in many yards. Branches of this tree with their stiff, spiny, dark green leaves and plentiful red berries are frequently used in Christmas decoration, but insects and birds enjoy this plant for a more practical reason. The nectar is very attractive to bees and when the berries ripen, a flock of hungry birds may descend on a tree all at once for a welcome feast. In the garden, American holly grows slowly to become a low-maintenance, medium-sized tree, providing year-round color for humans and food and cover for wildlife.
Yaupon holly (Ilex vomitoria) is another evergreen holly you may find in our area, although its native range is farther south in the coastal plain. It is typically smaller than the American holly and so is often planted in gardens, especially as a foundation plant close to buildings. Like the American, the female flowers will bear red fruit if pollinated. The leaves are smaller and not spiky, making it easier to work on and around. There are a number of cultivars including dwarf varieties and this plant is readily available at commercial nurseries. Yaupon demands little of the gardener so it is a popular landscape choice.
Two evergreen hollies with black--rather than red--fruit are gallberry (Ilex coriacea) and inkberry (Ilex glabra). Also natives of the coastal plain, these plants prefer a moist--or even wet--soil, so an ideal spot would be a rain garden, stream bank, or low wet area. Gall berries drop from the plant in late summer, but inkberries persist into winter if the birds don't eat them all.
Of course, not all hollies are evergreen, but their berries can provide cheerful color on gloomy days. The absence of leaves actually makes the fruits of winterberry (Ilex verticillata) and possumhaw (Ilex decidua) even more noticeable.
All of the above species have been extensively hybridized by the horticulture trade and cultivars featuring various traits considered especially desirable to gardeners are readily available in nurseries. When selecting hollies, it is wise to keep certain considerations in mind.
Hollies are dioecious, so you'll get fruit only on female plants and only if they are pollinated from nearby male trees. You might need to plant both genders to be sure to have berries.
Different species may be known by the same common name, so check the botanical name before choosing.
Hollies grow rather slowly. The evergreen varieties can provide a nice privacy hedge, but it will take a while.
Hollies (especially the species with spiky leaves) are not generally attractive to deer, rabbits or other garden marauders.
Holly nectar is loved by bees and holly honey is loved by humans.
You help sustain our natural world when you plant native hollies and other native plants. In general, exotic plants do nothing to support our native ecosystems and some are catastrophically harmful to them.
Janet Martin
