About Holly
Holly is the definitive Christmas green: glossy spined leaves and clusters of hard scarlet berries, cut by the armful every December for wreaths, garlands and table work. It is one of December's birth flowers.
The single most useful thing to know about it is why so many holly bushes never produce berries. Holly is dioecious, meaning male and female flowers are on separate plants, and only the female berries. A garden with one holly and no male within reach will stay green and bare no matter how well it is tended.
Primary Meanings
- Protection: Hung at doorways long before Christianity
- Defence: From the spines; the Latin name relates to holy and to defence
- Domestic Happiness: The Victorian meaning
- Everlasting Life: From staying green through winter
Holly Colors and Their Meanings
Red Berry Holly
The Christmas classic
Orange Berry Holly
Some cultivars berry orange
Yellow Berry Holly
Bacciflava and similar, unusual and prized
Variegated Holly
Cream-edged leaves, often berryless males
Popular Holly Types
English Holly
Ilex aquifolium; the classic spined leaf
American Holly
Ilex opaca; duller leaves, the US Christmas standard
Winterberry
Ilex verticillata; deciduous, bare stems packed with berries
Variegated Cultivars
Cream and gold edged; many are male and never berry
Care Instructions
Split the Stem
Woody; split the cut end to drink.
Deep Water
Cut holly lasts far longer in water than dry.
Mist Wreaths
Dry wreaths shed berries within days.
Wear Gloves
The spines are genuinely sharp.
Best Occasions for Holly
- Christmas: Its entire commercial season
- December Birthdays: One of the month's birth flowers
- Wreaths and Garlands: The traditional structural green
- Winter Solstice: Used in midwinter rites long before Christmas
Interesting Holly Facts
- Male and female flowers grow on separate plants; only females berry
- Winterberry drops its leaves entirely, leaving bare stems of berries
- Birds avoid the berries until frost has softened them
- It is one of December's birth flowers
- The berries are toxic to people and pets, though birds eat them safely
How to Buy Good Holly
Buy berried holly as late as you reasonably can, because berries drop steadily once cut and a stem bought in late November will be sparse by Christmas. Check the berries are firm and glossy, not wrinkled, and give a stem a gentle shake to see how many fall. Leaves should be deep green and unmarked; yellowing or black spotting spreads. Berried stems cost several times what plain green holly does, so decide how much you actually need before ordering.
Season, Availability and What Drives the Price
November and December, and effectively nothing outside that. Berried holly is one of the sharpest price curves in the trade: it climbs steeply through December and collapses to nothing on the 26th. Plain green holly is far cheaper throughout. Winterberry, the deciduous type sold as bare stems loaded with berries, has become increasingly popular and often costs more than traditional holly.
What to Use Instead
Hypericum berries give the same red clusters year-round and drop far less. Winterberry is the leafless alternative and reads more modern. Skimmia offers dense red buds through winter without spines. For the structural green, eucalyptus, pine and ruscus all work and are cheaper. Nothing else has the specific glossy spined leaf, which is why it survives in wreath work despite the handling.
Safety Around Pets and Skin
Holly berries are toxic to cats, dogs and people. They contain saponins and cause vomiting, drooling, diarrhoea and lethargy, and the spined leaves cause mechanical injury to the mouth on top of that. Children have been hospitalised after eating berries. Birds eat them safely and are the plant's intended dispersers, which is why they are so conspicuously red. Keep wreaths and cut stems away from pets and small children, and sweep up dropped berries.
Florist Tips for Holly
Why yours has no berries
Holly needs a male and a female plant. Only the female berries, and it needs a male within pollinating distance. Many variegated garden cultivars are male and will never produce a berry however long you wait.
Mist a wreath to keep the berries on
Dry holly sheds fast. A wreath misted every couple of days holds its berries far longer than one left to dry by a warm door.
Buy berried holly late
It starts dropping the moment it is cut. Late is better than early, even though the price is worse.
Common Questions About Holly
Why doesn't my holly have berries?
Because it is male, or because there is no male nearby to pollinate it. Holly has separate male and female plants and only the female produces berries. Many popular variegated cultivars are male and will never berry at all.
Are holly berries poisonous?
Yes, to people, cats and dogs. They contain saponins and cause vomiting, drooling and diarrhoea, and the spined leaves injure the mouth as well. Birds eat them safely, which is a common source of the mistaken belief that they are harmless.
What is winterberry?
A deciduous holly, Ilex verticillata, that drops all its leaves and leaves bare stems packed with red berries. It is increasingly popular for Christmas work because the berries are far more visible with no foliage in the way.