One of those plants that we associate with Christmas is the evergreen holly. The European Ilex is also really pretty to look at with its jagged leaves and red berries. It's no wonder that the holly was named Tree of the Year 2021. Would you like to plant this beautiful tree in your garden? How about keeping it in the pot for your Christmas decorations before moving it? Especially if you only have one balcony at your disposal, you will definitely want to know what you should pay attention to when caring for it. After we give youPlanting partner for the Christmas roseWe will now explain to you how to care for the holly and what you could combine it with in the pot or bucket. We would like to point out that today we are talking about the European holly and not the Japanese holly.
Evergreen holly – profile
The evergreen hollyIlex aquifoliumis one of the few native evergreen plants, but is widespread throughout the world and is native to the Mediterranean, southeastern Europe and North Africa. Other names include European holly, Hülse, Hulst, winterberry, Christmas thorn and Schradler in Austria. In English she calls herself Holly. Further information about the European holly can be found briefly and concisely in the following profile:
Plant family: holly family (Aquifoliaceae)
Location: Partial shade and shadow
Blattform: oval-shaped with thorny serrations
Blattfarbe: Upper side leathery, shiny and dark green, underside light green and matt
Holly blossom: White to cream, approx. 8 mm in size, from May to early June
Berries: red; in autumn; become soft with the first frost and suitable as food for birds; The leaves and berries of holly are poisonous
Height of growth: an average of 3 meters, sometimes only 1 meter and up to 15 meters
Propagate holly: by seeds or cuttings
Notice: Since the evergreen holly is very popular at Christmaspopular decorative materialis, it was threatened with extinction in earlier times. In Germany it is therefore protected. Since the plant tolerates pruning well, you can use the cut shoots of your own plant directly for your Christmas decorations. You'll get some ideas in another article soon.
If you would like to buy an Ilex holly, you should of course first find out about its care needs. What youabout careIf you should know, find out from us! For pot care, it is best to choose a small or medium-sized variety (e.g. hedge dwarf).
Holly location, watering and fertilizer
As can already be seen from the profile, the European evergreen Ilex prefers a shady to semi-shady location. This makes them perfect for those areas in the garden for which suitable plants are otherwise difficult to find, as well asfor north balconiesor others that receive little sunlight. To avoid waterlogging when it rains, remove the coaster.
Once it has got used to its location in the garden, the evergreen holly is hardy - but the holly in the pot is only hardy to a limited extent. There are more sensitive varieties that you should also protect with fleece in the garden if they are in a windy place.Potted plants on balconyand terraces are also somewhat hardy and can even withstand frost. The real problem is that they shouldn't be watered during frost as the roots will freeze. The plants also need water in winter as soon as the upper layer of soil is dry. For this reason, during longer periods of frost, it is best to place them in a cold garage for watering, but then with a saucer, as the drier root ball is now more difficult to absorb water in winter.
Fertilizing the garden plant is not absolutely necessary, but you can still do something good for the plant in spring with low-lime rhododendron fertilizer, leaf compost or stable manure. Potted plants need to be fertilized once between April and September.
Cut holly
When it comes to pruning this beautiful plant, there are no rules. You can cut them whenever you want and how you want. That's why the evergreen hollyas a hedgeand ornamental shrub also so popular. You can also shape the holly like a tree and turn it into an eye-catcher too.
Plant and combine in the pot on the balcony
Finding suitable companion plants for the garden is not particularly difficult - forsythia, hydrangea, daisy or coneflower, for example, as well as lavender, catnip or ornamental sage.When planting in a containerThings look different, because finding plants with the same low demands and winter hardiness is anything but easy. On the one hand, you can choose another evergreen plant as a combination partner for the evergreen holly - boxwood, dwarf pine, Japanese spindle bush and false berry, for example.
The evergreen holly, for example, is suitable for underplantingthe Winter Heath, also called snow heather, which delights with its flowers from December to April. If flowers and berries don't necessarily have to be present, you can also add lemon balm and even harvest it during the winter on frost-free days. Or how about lavender, which also doesn't freeze in the pot, or the strap flower, which particularly stands out with its red leaves against the dark green leaves of the holly? For a glazed balcony or a winter garden, you can also choose plants that are not winter-hardy, but are still quite cold-resistant: cyclamen and pansies, for example, or ivy (as an accent, since very similar leaves that would otherwise not be noticeable). Even a simple layer of moss looks very nice. You can get more detailed advice about combination partners from your preferred tree nursery.
