I have always wanted a holly bush for holiday decorating and now I have one! :-D Kind of... I bought a little stick in a pot at the grocery store for $4...now what??? This is "Silver Variegated English Holly" Plus, I bought a flower arrangement that has a few sprigs of holly in it. How do I get these started?? Any help would be greatly appreciated!! I looked it up on Google and learned that they like slightly acidic soil and I need a male and a female for berries...how do I tell?
You tell the male from the female by the berries, which means you have to buy semi-mature plants. The holly in the arrangement probably won't strike roots, but if you don't try, they definitely won't! Try stripping off all the leaves except a few at the top, making a fresh cut on the bottom, and putting the cutting in a 50/50 mix of damp perlite and vermiculite. Cover the cuttings with a clear plastic (bag, bottomless soda bottle) and setting it out of direct sunlight in a moderately warm spot (50-60 degrees). Let us know if you get hollies!
Curious I was not until I saw the post and then I decided in the darkness of the near winter solstice to pinch a few leaves from the holly bushes outside. While two from each male and female does not make a bona fide scientific sample, it was enough to warrant a further daylight observation. The attached pictures yield little except the possibility that the stem may be redder on the male than the female. A daylight sample will quickly accertain the truth from the 20 year old shrubs. The berry ladened female is a popular hangout for Robins in the dead of winter when the ground is covered with newly fallen snow. Springtime of course would be the ultimate identification period as the male flower has a yellow stamen and the female flower has a green ovary. Holly leaves (top), female(L) Male(R) ( photo / image / picture from Jerry Sullivan's Garden ) Holly leaves (bottom) Female(L) Male(R) ( photo / image / picture from Jerry Sullivan's Garden ) More in the morning light, Jerry
Thanks ya'all I brought the 2 sprigs from the floral arrangement to work with me this morning and have them in a jar on the windowsill!!! These have berries on them so I really really really hope they root :-o
