How to Grow and Care for English Holly
If you’re a “Here We Come A-wassailing,” Yule log, Tiny Tim, and plum pudding-type of holiday reveler, have I got the holly for you to grow at home!
English, aka common, holly (Ilex aquifolium) is native to Europe, north Africa, and western Asia, and its sprigs are spiny, glossy green or variegated, and full of wreath-ready red berries in winter.
It’s got the looks you think of when “The Holly and The Ivy” pours forth from the radio or old-school record player, and has been featured on many a Christmas card and school child’s holiday coloring page.
It is the essential holiday holly in England, and some of us gardeners in the States prefer its looks to those of our own American holly, which isn’t quite as bold.
Both the American and English types grow nice and tall, usually more than 30 feet, which means lots of branches for decor.
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But before I get carried away with all the fa-la-la-la-la fodder, I must caution my fellow Anglophiles.
This type of holly is not as cold-hardy as the American type, nor does it thrive in hot weather. It grows best only in USDA Hardiness Zones 7 to 9.
And though I hate to sound disparaging, it can be invasive, due to its ability to be propagated when animals carry the seeds hither and yon, and also by runners when growing wild.
It’s listed as invasive in some parts of California, Oregon, and Washington, for example.
If you’re gardening in an area where it can grow happily, and you have the space for a hedge or a couple of specimens that could grow to 50 feet and spread 25 feet, this could be the holly for you.
To get a better idea of
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