Ilex aquifolium - Holly - Plant

Description

• Aquifoliaceae Aquifoliales
• Central and Western Europe
• H 9m x W 5m
•  Z6 
• Evergreen, slow-growing shrub
• Synonyms: Common Holly
• 1 plant bare root

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Details

Dioecious plant with leathery, dark green, shiny leaves, seemingly varnished on their upper face, and equiped with thorny excrescences, very pronounced on female plants

Spring flowering, insignificant, white, discreet, lasting for several weeks, very pleasantly scented like honey, and extremely attractive to bees

Only the female plant bears decorative bright red berries in autumn and early winter - traditionally used in Christmas decorations - contrasting beautifully against the dark green foliage

Birds feed on these berries in winter and help disperse the seeds

As an evergreen, Holly offers decorative interest in the garden during winter, and can be planted isolated or in hedges

Ilex aquifolium is extremely robust and tolerates extreme cold and drought conditions

Its dense wood is highly regarded by cabinetmakers for its hardness and its beauty (light color)

Ilex aquifolium has medicinal virtues and finds various applications for human health thanks to its properties: Astringent, Diaphoretic, Diuretic, Emetic, Expectorant, Febrifuge, and Purgative

Holly berries are toxic (purgative at low doses, causing nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain at higher doses)

The plants offered here are the botanical species

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Cultivation

Plant in any soil in shade or full sun

Water the young plant in summer the first year, to allow it to grow roots

It is a maintenance-free plant otherwise

Prune it fearlessly when necessary