Mademoiselle Holly

This holly's qualities make an easy, impressive choice for year-round ornamental interest. First of all, you can customize its growth to your landscape. Used as a hedge, it reacts well to shearing back and forming into many different shapes. Or you can let it grow tall (up to 12-15') as a privacy screen. Second, it provides different color features to keep you looking through the seasons. While it's evergreen and will always have shiny, spiky green leaves to show off, new leaf growth has a rich wine-and-chocolate color. Mid spring blooms are followed by those distinctive holly berries in fall, which last through winter. Third, the berries bring foraging winter birds, which liven up the quiet winter landscape with beautiful movement and sound. Everyone's seen holly in around homes for the holidays, and you can cut yours straight from the bush. The berries hold nicely. It generally takes a couple seasons of establishing in a garden before berry production, and there has to be a male holly somewhere in the neighborhood. Pollinators will often find the match for you, but if you're not getting berries, you might want to plant a male holly. Also be sure to prune only in late winter to early spring—summer and fall pruning can remove growth that would have produced fruit. Ilex x meserveae 'Madez' Mademoiselle™ PPAF