Holly Society of America, Inc.

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Holly Society of America, Inc.

Founded in 1947, a non-profit organization of individuals ( skilled growers as well as novices ) interested in learning about the genus, Ilex.

Join us in sharing our passion for the loveliest crown jewel in the horticultural world, the Holly.

06/17/2026

Ilex pernyi, one of the species mentioned in yesterday's post, is native to central and southwest China, where grows as a small, 20-30 foot tree. In European or American gardens, however, it rarely achieves even half that size. It is most notable for its small, fiercely spiny leaves, each of which has a strongly recurved (downward-turned) apex. It flowers on the previous year's wood in very early spring. These are followed by bright red fruits which tightly hug the stem. In cultivation, the species tends to be somewhat rangy, with long branches often becoming pendulous especially when bearing fruit. There are only a few named cultivars; this one is known as 'Recurva' (not to be confused with the Ilex aquifolium of the same name). It is hardy in Zones 6-9. Ilex pernyi is seldom encountered in the horticultural trade, even in specialty nurseries. However, it readily hybridizes with other Old World species, and those crosses are much better known. These include such Ilex cornuta x pernyi hybrids as 'Lydia Morris', 'John T. Morris', and 'Doctor Kassab', and Ilex x aquipernyi 'Meschick' (tradenamed Dragon Lady). (Jim)

06/16/2026

Red Beauty (tradename for Ilex 'Rutzan') is a three-species hybrid from Elwin Orton and David Gant of Rutgers University. It was the result of a cross between a female Ilex x meserveae (itself a hybrid of I. aquifolium and I. rugosa) and a male I. pernyi. Flowers on the previous year's growth are followed by abundant red fruits, which develop their color as early as September each year. It grows into a densely branched, conical shape, seldom if ever needing pruning. The leaves are small, dark green, and spiny, and have demonstrated great resistance to deer browsing. It is hardy in Zones 6-9. 'Rutzan' is the subject of US Plant Patent 14750 (filed in 2002), but this has now expired and thus there are no remaining prohibitions against asexual propagation. (Jim)

06/14/2026

A seasonal contrast of Ilex.
June and December (Sue)

06/13/2026

'Rocket' is the name of this hybrid of Ilex leucoclada and I. cornuta with exceptionally large red fruit in large clusters. It has elliptical to ovate leaves with nearly spineless margins, and a vigorous, upright growth habit with long, often unbranched stems. A plant of this cross (not specifically labeled 'Rocket') is grown at the James Frorer holly collection at Swarthmore University in Pennsylvania, and was at one time also at the University of Delaware Botanic Gardens in Newark, Delaware. Does anyone else still have it? (Jim)

06/11/2026

Apical dominance in action - these two American hollies, both about 50 years old and growing just a few feet from each other, adopt quite different shapes. The first is 'Satyr Hill', displaying a single trunk and narrowly conical shape thanks to strong apical dominance. It has never required pruning - in the words of one old-timer, "It already knows how to be a good holly." The second is 'Miss Helen', which despite annual pruning develops into a more rounded shape with multiple leading branches. But of course we love them both!

Apical dominance occurs when the leading shoot produces the plant hormone auxin, which inhibits the growth of lateral buds beneath it. This results in the "Christmas tree" shape as seen in many conifers. In the wild, strong apical dominance allows a young tree to compete for sunlight and grow quickly into openings in the forest canopy. While critical for some species, it may not be so important for American hollies, which thrive in the forest understory. Perhaps this explains the diversity of habits seen in hollies selected from their natural habitats. In the horticultural world however, commercial growers favor hollies with strong apical dominance, as these can achieve greater height more quickly, with minimal requirements for staking or pruning. Our most recent Hollies of the Year, Ilex opaca 'Sundown' (2026) and 'Boiler Boy' (2025) are two examples of newer introductions with strong apical dominance. (Jim)

06/10/2026

'Southern Gentleman' is a male winterberry, Ilex verticillata, selected by Robert Simpson of Simpson Nursery to assure pollination of later-flowering, Southern-type winterberries. He recognized that the popular male 'Jim Dandy', which provides great pollination for the Northern winterberries, would often finish blooming just as the Southern females started. Unfortunately, his new male selection was initially circulated under the misleading name 'Simpson's Early Male', as it may have flowered somewhat earlier than some other Southern types. To alleviate the obvious confusion, It was renamed 'Southern Gentleman' by the Simpson Nursery in their 1993-1994 catalogue. 'Southern Gentleman' was never formally registered with the Holly Society, nor trademarked, and curiously was not even mentioned in Fred Galle's "Hollies: The Genus Ilex" (1997), and yet it has become quite successful in the horticultural trade. It grows to 8-10 feet tall and just as wide (or even larger given time), and frequently produces new sucker growth from its roots. It is a good pollenizer for several later-flowering winterberries including Ilex verticillata 'Winter Red', 'Winter Gold', and 'Sunset', and also for I. verticillata x serrata hybrids such as 'Sparkleberry' and 'Scarlett O'Hara'. (see Holly Society Journal 19(2): 14-15 (2001))

06/09/2026

This unnamed female seedling, codenamed 'X1' by Bill Cannon of Brewster, Massachusetts, continues to impress us. It is an advanced generation Ilex x meserveae seedling, perhaps a backcross to Ilex aquifolium similar to 'Hachfee' (tradename Castle Spire). Bill couldn't say enough good things about this plant back in 2019 when he sent us cutting wood. Our plant has grown into a rounded shrub with large-ish, deep green and glossy leaves. The leaf margins are finely serrated, with numerous forward-facing teeth which are not sharp. Also encouraging is the fact that this one sailed untouched though the past severe winter here, while many nearby plants were damaged. Perhaps we can get this one into our Test Holly Program in the coming years. (Jim)

06/08/2026

Bouncing back - this 'Miss Courtney' American holly lost its first four or five inches of new growth in our April 21st freeze, and with it, all of this year's flower buds. But today it is covered in fresh new growth. 'Miss Courtney' was discovered by Ron Solt in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and named after his granddaughter. It was registered with the Holly Society in 1998. In a good year, its heavy fruit crop tends to weigh down the branches, temporarily giving the tree a weeping habit. There will be no fruit on ours this year, unfortunately, but we should be able to get plenty of cuttings for propagation. (Jim)

06/07/2026

There are only a few truly orange-fruited American hollies, and 'Volunteer Orange' is one of the best. This unique plant was discovered as a chance seedling in Lenoir City, Tennessee ("The Volunteer State"), and was then moved to Loudon County, Tennessee in 1964. It was subsequently visited and named by Harold Elmore, and registered with the Holly Society by Frances Scheidt in 2011. It has been hard to find in the horticultural trade, so we've been harvesting cutting wood from our tree for the past few years. Unfortunately, our April 21st freeze following a week of temperatures in the 90s burned back all its new growth, along with this year's flower buds. The tree will bounce back, and will probably supply cutting wood once again by August or September. However, it won't produce any more flowers this season, so we'll have to content ourselves with this nostalgic view of 2025's fruit display. (Jim)

Address

PO Box 803
Millville, NJ
08332

Website

https://hollysociety.org/

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