Featured Plant

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Scientific Name: Ilex aquifolium

Common Names: Holly

Family: Aquifoliaceae

Plant Type: Evergreen Tree to 25m

Environment: Prefers maritime climates; doesn't like extreme cold or heat. Needs good light to thrive and fruit at its best, but can also tolerate partial and even deep shade. Needs moist but well-drained soil. The Hillier Manual puts it best when it says, “I. aquifolium is 'adaptable to most soils and indifferent to sun and shade'.”

Bloom: Small, slightly fragrant white flowers appear in May and June

Uses: Good to use as a dominant shrub or small tree as they keep their structure for most of their lifespan, but can also work well in a 'supporting role' in your garden. I. aquifolium have a conical habit of growth and respond well to heavy pruning. Due to the spiny sharp tipped leaves, a good choice of plant for those areas of your home or garden where you would like to keep out 'others'.

Other: The holly 'berry' is not truly a berry at all, it is a drupe. A drupe is a fleshy fruit surrounding a seed. Peaches, plums, and cherries are also considered drupes. Aquifolium means 'with pointed leaves, spiny-leaved'. The female plants bear the glossy red berries (about 6mm in diameter). Native American people used Ilex opaca to symbolise courage and fierceness in battle by painting sprays of holly onto shields and jackets, or pinned to clothing prior to going into battle.