HOLLY HEDGE

HOLLY

Ian

I love holly bushes. Would they make an effective hedge? D.M. Newtown

Reply
The mere mention of holly brings to mind conical trees with spiny leaves and red berries in winter. That image is valid, but the shrub also makes a very hardy hedge. They range in size from a 6-inch-tall spreading dwarf to a 70-foot-tall towering giant. Leaves may be small and spineless or large and armed. Berries can be red, orange, yellow, or black.


Containerised plants have a better success rate than bare rooted specimens but they are very expensive when you have to buy a lot of them, so you could chance buying a load of bare rooted ones and hope for the best. If you do plant now then make sure that they are watered in well and water them if the weather is dry for a long spell. They can tolerate dry soil when they are established and they grow well in shady areas and on the sites on old hawthorns. If the soil is going to be very wet or really heavy then maybe you could think about planting something else instead because holly doesn’t like those conditions. Escallonia maybe?



Horticultural.