How to Grow American Holly Trees

23.06.2023 - 00:48 / gardenerspath.com / Laura Ojeda Melchor

When you think of your favorite winter holiday decorations, do you imagine glossy, pointy holly with bright red berries?

I know I do. And if you’ve ever wondered if you could grow this festive shrub at home, I’m here to tell you that you absolutely can.

American holly, or Ilex opaca, adds a bright pop of color to your yard or garden in the wintertime – and you can take clippings from it to decorate your home for the holidays.

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In this guide, we’ll show you everything you need to know to grow your own American holly at home.

Here’s what we’ll cover:

I. opaca is an evergreen tree that’s often grown as a shrub. Ilex, or the holly genus, is the only accepted genus in the Aquifoliaceae family, and it contains over 560 species!

Also known as “Christmas holly,” American holly can grow anywhere from 15 to 30 feet tall and 10 to 20 feet wide in the garden, although you can find cultivars that are more compact as well.

In the wild, however, it can grow up to 60 feet tall and 40 feet wide!

This plant bears pointy leaves that stay green all year long. New leaves have a glossy sheen, but older leaves fade to take on a more matte appearance – unlike English holly, I. aquifolium, whose leaves are glossy all the time.

Both male and female shrubs bear fragrant flowers, and the plants are dioecious, meaning the male and female reproductive parts are found on different plants.

You need a male to help fertilize one or more females, so be sure to plant them together.

Female hollies go on to produce berries that turn bright red – or sometimes orange or yellow – in