5 tips for using holly to add colour to your garden

Think holly is strictly for the holidays? Nope! When the climate and garden conditions are right, holly makes an attractive (and colourful) hedge.

Its glossy leaves and, if pollinated, a spectacular show of bright red berries, also make it a lovely choice for grouping in the garden.

• Once well established, clip a few branches to bring some indoors for holiday decoration.

You can select a type that has few or no spines, such as Chinese holly, Japanese holly or longstalk holly. In warm climates, yaupon hollies make fantastic, low-maintenance shrubs.

Check plant tags for the plant's mature height, since pruning spiny hollies is no fun. Varieties are available in a huge range of sizes.

For abundant red berries, you will need both male and female plants of most species.

• Only female holly specimens will produce berries — and only when pollinated by a male.
• One male holly will provide ample pollen for several female plants.

Cold-hardy winterberry holly sheds its leaves in the fall but compensates with a profusion of bright red, orange or yellow berries all winter.

In addition to providing spectacular colour in a drab season, it is tolerant of wet soil and partial shade, and adapts to almost all parts of North America.

Starting from seed is rare and not recommended, as the seeds require months of preparation before they can be planted; germination alone can take up to five years.

• When planting, add peat moss or compost to the holes.
• If planting as a hedge, prune heavily after transplanting to reduce shock. Holly can be a slow grower and is not always easy to establish.
• Water well during its first year.
• Lower branches on older shrubs tend to bend to the ground and root; to avoid this, trim off the lowest branches.