Heavenly holly

December 19, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

By Norman Winter

McClatchy Newspapers

Recently while doing a little Christmas shopping, I was completely mesmerized by the winter landscape of the shopping complex.

Not only was it modern with the latest stores and architecture, but it also had a nice complement of artistic statuary and water features.

The real show, however, came from the planning that went into the landscape that was simply incredible, thanks to the use of hollies.

I suspect most other customers simply took the hollies for granted.

There were several species from shrubs to trees, and my favorites, which had a natural conical or Christmas tree shape.

Used in combination with fine-textured junipers and gray-leafed Russian olives, they gave the landscape the evergreen bones or structure to look good 12 months of the year.

Many hollies have a thick, waxy cuticle enabling them to be among the most durable plant for landscape able to withstand frigid cold and sultry heat.

In addition to glossy green leaves found on many species, they also have the ability to adorn the landscape with an abundance of bright red berries.

Since hollies are dioecious, meaning male and female plants, this requires you to select female holly varieties if you want berries.

A bounty of bright red berries will not only make the winter landscape more attractive, as it did at my shopping center, but will also serve as a valuable feeding source to birds.

For instance, American holly, which stands so tall and statuesque in the winter landscape with its deep green leaves and looks like it has been carefully decorated with just the right amount of bright red berries, feeds 18 species of birds. Jersey Princess and Jersey Delight are two of the more superior selections.

But you aren’t just relegated to the American holly for the landscape. In zone 6 and warmer, try the famous Nellie R Stevens, an English and Chinese holly hybrid, or Mary Nell also a hybrid, both producing fruit that birds find delectable.

No matter where you live in the country, there are scores of hollies recommended for your landscape or backyard wildlife habitat. Talk to your Certified Nurseryman about the best selections for your area.

Plant your holly in a well-prepared fertile bed, not mixed with turf but incorporated with other shrubs.

Try grouping them in odd numbered clusters of three or five and surround with azaleas or rhododendrons.

Use ground-cover junipers to offer a contrasting fine leaf texture.

Repeat these plantings in the landscape for continuity.

Incorporating a few redbuds and dogwoods in between the groups will give you a stunning landscape.

Though these are tough, persevering shrubs, they do need water to get established at your home.

During the first year ,make it a practice to train them to go deep with their root expansion by watering deep but infrequently.

Feed your hollies a light application of a slow-released balanced fertilizer about a month after transplanting. Feed established plantings in April and August.

The last application is even more important for hollies with large berry crops.

This time of the year, we celebrate a lot of traditions and lore that has been passed down for centuries, and one of my favorites is the holly.

The word holly is believed to be derived from holy, for in several parts of Europe sprigs were used in decorating to commemorate the birth of Christ.

You can deck the halls, too, but you first have to plant some hollies in the landscape.

Norman Winter is vice president for college advancement, Brewton Parker College, Mount Vernon, Ga., and author of “Tough-as-Nails Flowers for the South” and “Captivating Combinations Color and Style in the Garden.”