Ilex aquifolium

Green Holly (Ilex aquifolium) is familiar to everybody and risks being taken for granted. Which would be a mistake - it is a special plant - holder of an RHS award of Garden Merit - and here's why. Holly will grow into a beautifully shaped medium sized tree if left to its own devices, but it makes a dense and glossy hedge all year round. And a holly hedge is a really special thing. It makes the best possible wind break; something to do with leaf shape. It is also one of the most responsive plants for clipping into almost any shape. Add the fact that it is stockproof and can provide a lifetime's supply of Christmas wreaths and berries and everyone should have some in their garden in one form or another. Ilex aquifolium is also easy going, settling in well on all soils from acid to alkaline, sandy dry to claggy clay. Holly will thrive in shade, on the coast, or even next to the pollution of a busy road and once established is immune to long, hot, drought-ridden summers. Simply one of the best all-round hedge plants we grow and sell.

How to grow holly

Start small. Ilex aquifolium and its varieties such as Variegated Silver Holly and the all female holly Ilex aquifolium Alaska (guaranteed to berry) will grow away much more strongly if started off young. The amazing textural effect it achieves can be contrasted with yew or laurel to create a tapestry hedge and then you have the added bonus in the winter of bright red berries. As with all evergreen hedges it is the perfect backdrop for a mixed and colourful herbaceous border - try to include some bright winter reds to tie in with the berries - Skimmia rubella, Cornus sibirica or Cornus alba spaethii would all be obvious choices. Hollies also lend themselves to having their lower trunk stripped of branches so that you end up with a lollipop; an avenue of these look stunning. Especially so if you use a variegated variety. The only caveat when you have planted young holly is to protect them from rabbits which love the young bark and from the effects of cold and drying winds - at whatever season they may occur.

Features

Size: 15 m as a tree
Soil: Any
Use: prickly hedging/topiary
Single Row: 3 per metre
Colour: dark green and shiny
Feature: red berries on female plants
RHS AGM

Holly trivia

Holly wood is prized by fine furniture makers who use the pure white wood for inlay work. The bits of holly that you cannot use for furniture burn make good firewood. Mature holly bushes and trees are a popular habitat for many birds and insects, especially robins, thrushes and blackbirds who have a built in berry canteen. And while nothing is immune to honey fungus, holly is on RHS list of resistant plants.

Growing Holly:
Holly is enormously hardy, wind-resistant and will grow well in seaside or industrial areas. It is tolerant of poor soil, deep shade and is very happy under large, deciduous trees that block out most of the sun during the summer; like any almost plant, it will grow faster in a sunny location. Holly is suitable for both chalky, alkaline soils and acidic soil, although it will grow more vigorously in acidic conditions.
It will not grow well if the site is too wet and boggy, but it likes damp soils and will cope with occasional waterlogging.

Rabbits love Holly bushes - Protect them:
Newly planted Holly is a target for rabbits, which like to bite young, green holly plants off at ground level.
If you have rabbits in your area, protect your saplings with spiral guards.
If you have a big rabbit problem, the 80/100 size plants are less vulnerable to being nibbled, although we still advise you to use spiral guards.

Prepare your site before planting:
Native hedge plants like Holly are very tough. The only essential preparation is to kill the weeds in a strip a metre wide along the planting site: improving the soil should not be necessary. If your soil is exceptionally poor and dry, then digging in some well rotted manure and/or compost is worthwhile.

Watch our video on how to plant a garden hedge for full planting details.
Remember to water establishing plants during dry weather for at least a year after planting.
Note: Holly sometimes drops its leaves soon after planting. This is normal, but it prevents the plants from losing moisture through their leaves, so it's best not to water your plants heavily if you have have a moist, heavy clay soil. If your soil is dry, water your plants thoroughly as normal.

Hedge Planting Accessories:
Prepare your site for planting by killing the weeds and grass with Roundup weed killer.
You can buy a hedge planting pack with sheets of mulch fabric and pegs to hold it down.
If you are planting in an area with rabbit and/or deer, you will need to use a plastic spiral guard for each plant, supported by a bamboo cane.
If your soil quality is poor, we recommend using mycorrhizal "friendly fungi" on the roots of new trees and shrubs.
You can also improve your soil with bonemeal organic fertiliser and Growmore.

Read our full terms and conditions here.

Delivery: The basic delivery charge for orders of bareroot plants is £6.50 + vat, which increases to £12.55 + vat if you add any pot-grown plants, standard trees or fruit trees to the order.
Because couriers sometimes experience delays, we schedule delivery by week, not by day. Therefore, please plan your planting day for the weekend at the end of the delivery week or for the week following delivery, at the earliest.
We will email you the day before your plants are due to arrive.

*Surcharges to the Highlands and Islands still apply.

Payment: We do not charge your card until we begin to prepare your order for packing.

Guarantee: If any plants die within a year, we will replace them. We only ask that you follow our planting & growing instructions and sent us clear photographs of the dead plants in situ, so we can help to make sure that the replacement plants succeed. You only pay for the delivery of the replacements.

Please note that our guarantee is void if there is a hosepipe ban in your area: your newly planted hedging must be watered in dry weather while it is establishing. The best way to water is very thoroughly every few days: at least once a week if there is no heavy rain.

Our nursery has been supplying container grown and bareroot hedging plants to gardeners, farmers and town planners since 1949. Our website started in 2003, so we do understand the concerns that you may have about buying hedging plants online. If any of your plants are damaged when they arrive or if you are otherwise not satisfied with your order after you inspect it, please repackage it and contact us. We will give you a refund or send replacements and send a courier to come and collect the unwanted plants.

Misc	RHS AGM, Shrub, Wildlife Value
Shade	Full Shade, Partial Shade
Area	Coastal Areas, Exposed Windy Areas, Frost Pockets, Scotland & The North
Soil	Alkaline/Chalky, Poor/Dry
Colour	Red/Crimson
Type	Evergreen, Hedging, Native, Screening
Also Good	Berries

	NUMBER OF PLANTS
SIZES	1-9	10-49	50-249	250-999	1000+
30/40 cm POTTED	Out of Stock £4.35	Out of Stock £3.96	Out of Stock £3.74	Out of Stock £3.58	Out of Stock £3.36
40/60 cm POTTED	Out of Stock £5.56	Out of Stock £5.12	Out of Stock £4.90	Out of Stock £4.68	Out of Stock £4.35

Common Holly

Product Select Size Warning

Availability

Product Multiple Quantity Warning

Minimum Order Quantity

Ilex aquifolium

How to grow holly

Features

Holly trivia