Hedging Plants - Holly

Name – botanical; Ilex acquifolium – also known as Holm or in Ireland as Cuileann

Clipping and trimming - trimming may be done in late summer. As a hedge plant can be kept to a metre in height. This tree makes a total height of eight metres and a spread of four, and can take twenty to forty years to attain that complete stature.

Holly has been used as a hedge tree for centuries, the wood has a traditional use as a carving inlay and make firewood even when green. Berries were once used as an emetic in folk medicine. To grow from seed is difficult because the seed is deeply dormant. It is naturally distributed by birds eating berries. It likes a moist but well drained soil and can cope well with exposed locations.

Maintenance and problems – Can be affected by aphids, scale insects and holly leaf miner may be a problem in warmer areas. Sometimes can be affected by holly leaf blight. Berries may cause mild stomach upset if ingested. It is a low maintenance evergreen with dark green spike foliage, red berries in autumn and winter and white flowers in summer. Both male and female plants are needed for berrying.

Hedging Holly photograph by timbomb, used under a creative commons attribution licence

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