Yaupon holly is an gentle - to - grow native evergreen shrub for garden throughout the South .
Yaupon holly ( Ilex vomitoria ) is among the least call for nativeevergreen shrubsavailable to southerly gardeners . The tiny dark green folio and dense growth of this tight - growing ( 2 - 3 foot per year ) plant answer quickly to belligerent pruning , yet they expect right at home unpruned in the naturalised garden . Mature stand of yaupon holly can sucker to constitute impenetrable thickets , creating an loose hedge or privacy screen .
The encompassing variety of selection usable in the marketplace guarantee that there is a yaupon Buddy Holly for every situation . distaff flora sport dense clusters of cherry-red Chuck Berry throughout winter , while virile plant with no yield recede into the background signal .
Credit: Dency Kane
Where to Plant Yaupon Holly
flora yaupon holly infull sunor part shade . When planted in dense shade , the increase might become thin and leggy . This shrub is tolerant of both wet and dry conditions . When potential , develop it in an expanse that receives regular moisture . Once established , yaupon holly is drought liberal .
This shrub is aboriginal to the American Southeast and is a rightful chameleon in the landscape . It can be planted as an informal screen , clip into a schematic hedgeor parquet circle , shaped into a tight ball , rail as an espalier , become a focal point or specimen , or serve as nothing more than naturalized wildlife fodder in the forest .
When consume , the red berries of yaupon holly are toxic to humansand pets , but they allow for food for local wildlife .
How and When to Plant Yaupon Holly
Yaupon holly can be plant whenever the ground is workable , including summer solstice . Ideally , plant it in early springtime or autumn to annul the intense heat of midyear . However , with adequate irrigation , it can handle summer planting .
Dig a gob at the same depth as the survive root ball and loosen the environ grime to encourage root ontogeny . industrial plant with the root ball slightly above tier and skim the surrounding grunge up to the root ball . Apply a 2 - inchlayer of mulchto hold back moisture , but do n’t take into account it to touch the base of the flora ; it can make rot and create a habitable environment for undesirable insects . H2O the new plant heavily and continue regular watering until it establishes Modern roots .
Yaupon Holly Care Tips
Yaupon holly requires piddling input from the nurseryman to fly high as long as its minimum needs are met .
Light
Yaupon holly grow infull Dominicus to dense wraith , although plants grow in heavy shade may appear leggy and thin . For the adept results , grow yaupon holly in full sunshine or part shade .
Soil and Water
Yaupon holly grows in soils with apH between 4.5 and 7.0 , mayhap up to 7.5 .
It is found in bone - dry fix and constantly wet swampy areas . It even tolerates restrained stage of salt nebuliser and territory saltiness . In arid conditions , it benefits from supplementary irrigation , but in most garden , it hold out with nothing more than raw rainfall .
Temperature and Humidity
This plant life is hardy to most of the southern one-half of the United States and tolerates temperature as low as 0 ° fluorine , possibly downcast for short geological period . It handle teetotal and humid air and is extremely adaptable to southerly horticulture conditions .
Fertilizer
Yaupon holly does n’t usually require fertilizer . In very lean soils , add a level of compost to the beginning zone once yearly to helpbuild the organic matter . If you mistrust a nutrient deficiency , contact your local lengthiness agent and hash out perform a soil trial before at random applying fertilizers to assay to puzzle out a trouble . Unnecessary fertilizer is , at best , a permissive waste of money and , at bad , damaging to the surround .
Pruning
Yaupon holly is fast - grow and extremely forgive ofaggressive pruning techniques , including shearing and espalier . When go forth unpruned , many survival constitute an irregularly branched erect bush or small tree . Limb up the lower branches of a enceinte specimen to make an crooked tree form that provides a unique silhouette of light gray bark against a brick or gem paries .
Potting and Repotting Yaupon Holly
Most selection of yaupon holly are orotund and do not make ripe potted specimens , although small varieties perform satisfactorily in containers . Place the plant in a containerthat leave respectable drainage and enough elbow room for novel root developing . body of water the container regularly and keep it out of the dry wintertime winds to avoid desiccation and destruction . Check the works each season and repot it in a tumid container as needed .
Pests and Problems
There are no significant pests or diseases that touch yaupon holly . branding iron greensickness ( a want of iron available to the plant life , causing the quad between the folio veins to sour white-livered ) can come about in certain land conditions . If you mistrust iron chlorosis , reach your local extension federal agent for proffer on how to remediate the billet in your region . Finding a solution may require a soil mental test to name the topic .
How to Propagate Yaupon Holly
Yaupon holly can be a challenge to propagate successfully . The cum are very slow to spud , take up to 18 months to emerge . The well-fixed direction to grow this plant from seed is to roll up the ripe yield and nick the hard come coat with a sharp knife to admit H2O to fathom , aiding germination . Immediately put the nicked ejaculate a half - inch deeply in the flat coat and tag the location . The natural cold and wet atmospheric condition combined with the warmth of summertime helps touch off germination . you’re able to also sow the seed in plastic container of potting soil , then leave them outdoors or in an unheated greenhouse until germination occurs .
A third selection is totransplant ancestor suckersgrowing from another plant . The advantage to grow from cutting or root suckers is that you’re able to pick out female plants that produce the bright ruddy Berry that yaupon holly is known for . Identify a healthy sucker come off the root word of your choose plant and employ a sharp nigga to sever the roots , digging the plant and instantly transplanting it to a new location . Do this in late winter or other outflow for the best probability of success .
Types of Yaupon Holly
‘Nana’
Ilex vomitoria‘Nana ’ is a ordinarily available dwarf selection of yaupon holly that reaches 3 - 5 feet improbable and broad . It has smaller leaves than traditional yaupon hollies . The outgrowth are brickle and prostrate to disclose if handled too some .
‘Schillings Dwarf’
Ilex vomitoria‘Schillings Dwarf ’ is a slightly smaller and slower - growing holly than ‘ Nana . ’ The new shoots have a purplish color that becomes green in sentence .
‘Pride of Houston’
Ilex vomitoria ’ Pride of Houston’is a heavily fruiting option of yaupon holly known for a fertile fruit set . The red fruit of this all - distaff selection remain through the winter , providing areliable food source for birdsand small mammalian .
‘Pendula’
Ilex vomitoria‘Pendula ’ is an appropriate name for this crying form of yaupon holly . It includes both fruit distaff and non - fruiting manlike plants . Weeping forms are rumored to occasionally come reliable to seed .
Yaupon Holly Companion Plants
Buttonbush
Nativebuttonbush(Cephalanthus occidentalis ) is often found growing along current . However , when it receives regular moisture , it farm in any full Sunday to part - shade emplacement . The 3 - 6 inch - longsighted unripe leave and creamy lily-white balls of bloom stand out against the tiny dark fleeceable leaves of yaupon holly in an informal motley shrub planting . zone 5 - 9
Dogwood Shrub
Dogwood shrubs(Cornusspp . ) are usable in various leaf colors , including two - whole step green variegation , white and greenish diversification , and plain green . This bush perform well in damp part - shade weather condition and contrast nicely with the unpredictable grain of yaupon holly . Zones
Butterfly Weed
The vibrant orange flower of the nativebutterfly weed(Asclepias tuberosa ) make a delicious coupling with yaupon holly in the native wildlife habitat garden . Butterfly weed supportsmonarch butterflies , while yaupon holly support the birds .
Frequently Asked Questions
It is easy to befuddle the native yaupon holly with invasive Chinese privet . They have a similar size of it , color , and leaf material body . There are two wide-eyed way to separate the works apart : The edges of yaupon holly folio are bumpy , while the edges of Taiwanese privet leaves are smooth . Also , yaupon holly leaves emerge randomly from the stem , while Chinese privet leaves develop uniformly in twain along the stem .
You most likely have a male plant . Both male and distaff yaupon hollies raise small white flowers in spring , but only female form explicate the gorgeous cherry Berry associated with hollies . One male plant is usually enough to pollenate 10 female plants . In a formal planting , locate the manful plant aside from the female , or it will be noticeable that one industrial plant is not like the others .
Yaupon Holly . American Botanical Council
Are Berries of Yaupon Poisonous?Texas Master Gardeners
