Description |
Ilex species are Dioecious, meaning there are male and then female individual plants. Females are the ones that produce the attractive fruit or berries that native birds relish during the lean times of very early spring when most fruits are lone gone but yet the insects have not yet hatched or emerged from their winter dormancy. The species that most frequents the large shrub are Bombycilla cedrorum/Cedar Waxwings the most elegant birds in the eastern States. Female hollies are normally covered with varying hues of red berries and more rarely orange or even yellow fruited forms can be seen. The fruit show off their color in fall thru winter most and persist throughout the winter into early spring. The berries are a great Winter nutritional food favorite of songbirds during the late winter months when bird foods is scarce. The fruits are absolutely relished by north bound elegant Cedar Waxwings as their flocks pass back through in spring heading to their northern nesting states. Many other birds species benefit from this easy to grow though drought tolerant species. Possum Haw Holly as it is commonly known will grow in a wide range of soils conditions from clay to sandy and from average moisture to dry (xeric sites. It is even tolerant of shade and or full sun. At maturity it reaches 15'High x 15'Wide. I have made selections of many different forms that I feel have horticultural merit.
The first is the very darkest red form we have yet seen. It earned the named 'N3 Micco Menawa' in honor of one of the Northern Creek/Muscogee Chiefs that fought for his peoples culture being destroyed and their land being stolen by the white illegal aliens. The selection 'Warren's Red', was has been long established in the trade will have to bow its head to our new introduction 'N3 Micco Menawa' in the contest of darkest Blood Red and Glossiest forms.
I have also a bi-colored reddish orange and yellowish orange fruited form I named 'N3 Fuswvlke Toyis', pronounced Foosh-waugay Dtoyis, which means in Muscogee (My clan is Bird).
'N3 Ochesse Fire' that we are working to root is a nice rich red very heavy fruited selection with a 10'x10'equal height to spread ratio.
Another we are working to root is a very tall up right form with large fruit red. I have named it 'N3 Hvce Estecate',pronounced Ha-ge Es-ta-ga-de which translates (Tall Native American), in Muscogee.
We also have the stunning yellow fruited form 'Finches Gold' discovered in Alabama,
and the interesting weeping red fruited form 'Memphis bell' occasionally available.
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