| Please tell me everything about holly!! We seem to be in the middle of zone 5/6. My purpose in growing holly would be for winter decorations. How can I propagate it? What kinds of holly are there? My dad cut some from a 15 foot tree, but I have alsoheard that there are holly "bushes"? |
| Happily for your sake there are gazillions of varieties of holly from tiny to your Dad's tree-sized ones. Not only that, they NEED to be pruned freely (Christmas decorations) in order to maintain a dense, bushy growth. If you want some of your Dad's holly, look for some rooted stems that might be found around the base of the tree. Barring that, take some cuttings in the spring. If they fail to root...just try again in the summer. Prepare pots with an appropriate soil mix and firm to just below the rim. Take the cuttings by cutting just above a bud or leaf joint with pruners or a sharp knife. Sink the cuttings in water for a bit. Dip the base of each cut (after you have removed any leaves that are close to the cut) in a rooting powder to encourage rooting. Insert the cuttings into the pots of soil mix. Keep the soil moist and in a sheltered environment until they have rooted. After a gradual hardening off, transplant them carefully. Other varieties can be begged from friends or even bought! |
