Green Holly Hedge Plants - Ilex aquifolium
Native British Holly - Ilex aquifolium - is a lush evergreen shrub that will grow into a medium sized tree if left untrimmed. Holly bushes have spiny, glossy green leaves and bright red berries from late autumn to early winter, carried by the female plants. Holly makes a beautiful, low-maintenance hedging plant by itself and also goes very well with either beech or common laurel in a mixed hedge. It is a great plants for attracting wildlife into the garden, especially during winter, and is totally safe for farm animals and horses.
A Holly hedge is enormously hardy, wind-resistant and will grow well in seaside or industrial areas. It is tolerant of deep shade and is very happy under large, deciduous trees that block out most of the sun during the summer. Because Holly is in leaf all year, it has adapted itself to resist the stresses of snow piling up on its branches and strong, wintery winds catching the leaves. It's shield-like leaves are very effective at "filtering" wind and reducing its force, without creating turbulence like a fence or wall would, and Holly is often planted to make an exposed garden more sheltered all year round.
Holly is on the RHS list of plants that resist honey fungus well and is an excellent choice as a replacement for hedges or trees that are being attacked by it.
Trim Holly once a year, when most or all of its berries have gone. Don't be afraid of cutting back too much if it is overgrown - Holly plants readily produce new growth from old wood so they will always regrow to cover up a major operation. Holly leaves are responsive to their environment; the high up leaves on a tall tree are safe from being eaten and lose their spines. A yearly trim of your hedge will make the leaves produce more spines. As with pruning any large, spiny plant, we suggest that you wear eye protection.
Rabbits love Holly bushes: A newly planted Holly hedge is a favourite target for rabbits, who are inclined to bite young, green holly plants off at ground level. If you have rabbits in your area, ensure that your saplings are well protected with spiral guards for the first year or two. If you have a big rabbit problem, the 80/100 size plants are less vulnerable to being nibbled.
These holly hedging plants are grown from seed and are too young to have berried. In our experience, more than half of the plants in a large batch will turn out be female, though we can't promise this. For another way to ensure a bit of variety, you could add in some Variegated Holly.
The wood of holly is almost pure white, hard and polishes well. It is much prized for use in furniture, especially for inlay work. It is also good firewood.
Planting Holly bushes:
Your plants will grow in any well drained soil, including chalk. The best time to plant them out is in early spring. Holly sometimes drops its leaves after being transplanted. This isn't a problem, but as it prevents the plants from losing moisture through their leaves, it's best not to water your plants much if this happens and you have heavy clay soil in your area. Its maximum height as a tree is about 20 metres, but it is much more often seen as a large bush, 8 or so metres high.
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