Eco-gardening is at its best in The Monday Garden
April 4, 2004, Issue 106
Another rite of spring is choosing your new bush. ”Give back” by adding one new, permanent source of wildlife habitat and food to your property. Last year, my mother added viburnum and blue berries (Issue 56). This year, I’m rooting elderberry cuttings for her.
picture: American Holly, Hoyt Street Apartments, Stamford CT March 2004
The ideal new plant for you is care-free: it self-prunes, is not chemically-addicted (i.e. can live without pesticides and concentrated fertilizers), and will thrive in the exact conditions of your yard. For your birds and furry neighbors, make sure that you have something that’s warm in winter and that contributes food during late winter and early spring, the leanest times for those without Stop & Shop. Keep in mind that what the birds eat, they spread; so if you want to be part of the solution, choose only native plants to feed the birds.
Consider the American Holly, Ilex opaca (Holly family). I had always connected hollies to playing “Green Sleeves” on a lute in “Merry Old England” and didn’t realize that, in addition to the English holly (Ilex aquifolium), many of the hollies I see in local landscaping are “Great Americans”.
(I’m currently enrolled in theMaster Gardeners’ program , conducted in Connecticut by the University of Connecticut Cooperative Extension Service and Stamford’s Bartlett Arboretum, so you can look forward all kinds of new, interesting stuff.)
Anyway, if your “give back” is a native holly, you’ll get extra credit because they’re threatened in some areas by over-harvesting for holiday use. And, you can get DOUBLE EXTRA CREDIT as you need to plant two, a male and a female. All this and great winter interest, what more could you want? Well, how about a small tree that prefers part-shade and a little moisture? Then definitely go for the holly. It’s an understory plant that does much better out of full sun with some wind protection. Note that nurseries often advise planting English and American hollies in full sun to improve berry color but that also brings winter-burn, and a host of pests ( leaf miner, scale and leaf spot, for starters).
picture: American Holly, Hoyt Street Apartments, Stamford CT March 2004
To know if an American holly is for you, check your conditions. You need a spot sheltered from winter wind and full sun at mid-day/early afternoon. The space should be able to accommodate full grown plants, even though they are slow growers. The native species can get about 50’ tall and 15-20’ wide but smaller cultivars are available. Hollies like moist, acid soil, rich in organic matter (this is a bottom-land, forest tree, remember?). So dig in lots of compost when you plant and mulch annually. Established hollies are said to be drought tolerant but are not deer-resistant by any means. Also, the prickly dead leaves are tough on bare feet, so plant away from paths.
BUY AMERICAN: There are something like a1000 cultivars of American Holly (who’s doing the counting, I wonder) and who knows how many of the English competition (Ilex aquifolium), not to mention the Asian ilex crenata (Japan). So look for “opaca” in the name to make sure you’re getting the top-brand native.
In the Southeast, you get several more native varieties to choose from, some deciduous. There are even Caribbean hollies for the tropics.
The native hollies never extended into the West. Some Ilex are known invasive in California, so check you local invasiveness before planting any ilex in the West.
Northward, I. opaca and the English competition aren’t reliable even in Zone 5, let alone Maine or Canada. Winterberry (Ilex verticillata), a deciduous native ilex with fantastic winter berries, is said to be hardy Zone 3- 9. Meserve or Blue Holly (Ilex meserveae) is a highbred with at least partially foreign ancestry that has shiny, evergreen leaves (fairly small with lots of little teeth) and is said to be hardy to Zone 4 or 5.
picture: American Holly, Bartlett Arboretum, Stamford CT March 2004
BTW: before you buy, check out the neighborhood. If one of your neighbors already has a male holly of any variety that will bloom when yours does (that’s April to June for I. opaca, depending on how far north you are), and the guy is not hedge-pruned (could lop off the flowers), you don’t need a (berry-less) male and could, instead, use the extra money to do something nice for honey bees, like plant clover (see Issue 93). How close the male has to be seems to be a matter of debate, I’ve seen recommendations from 100 feet to one mile.
©Susan W. Sweeney 2004.
Comments (2)
COULD YOU VENTURE ME A GUESS AS TO HOW MUCH A 45'
TREE WOULD COST AS MY NEIGHBOR HAD ONE CUT DOWN ON THE TOWN'S PROPERTY AND I WOULD LIKE THE TREE COMPANY & MY NEIGHBOR TO PAY FOR IT. IT WAS IN VERY GOOD CONDITION.
THANK YOU,
JOHN
Posted by j.a. o'grady | May 30, 2004 1:13 AM
Posted on May 30, 2004 01:13
It's great to start a Sunday morning knowing that there's someone out there worried about the street trees. What a guy!
To get your local prices, it's best to check with a couple of tree-selling nurseries in your area. To get a fair price, you'd also have to know the type of tree involved. Whatever, a 45 -footer is expensive and awfully big to transplant successfully. Grown trees don't move well but might take 5 years to die. Instead, consider getting the perpetrators to atone with 2 or 3 new saplings (2 to 3" diameter).
Pick some nice natives; if there are power lines near by make sure to get something that won't grow too tall. Remember too that new trees will need faithful watering for their first two or 3 years. Perhaps your part of the deal, or your tree-cutting neighbor's, could be to undertake this part of the project.
Good luck and let me know how your project turns out.
Sue
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Posted by susan w. sweeney | May 30, 2004 4:48 PM
Posted on May 30, 2004 16:48