Posted by Earl on August 27, 19101 at 22:32:00:
In Reply to: How to care for a wild Holly bush posted by vbparks on August 25, 19101 at 01:11:02:
: I recently done some trimming of trees in my yard here in North Carolina. When I trimed a Cedar tree's branches up off the ground I was suprised to find a wild Holly growing there; especially since there aren't any Holly bushes for many miles around my house. It's very small, only about 6 inches high with about 9 leaves on it. It's growing right up next to the Cedar's trunk. I know nothing about Hollies. Can ANYONE email me info as to how to take care of it or email me a link to pages on the web as to their care? I want also to know about when would be a good time to move it from under the Cedar like at what height it should be to withstand being moved and what time of the year would be best to move it; assumming it needs to be moved. If you email links please use Care Of Holly Bushes in the subject line or the beginning of the body of the email and not just a link, as I try to be cautious of email sent to me and may not follow a link that's not described in some way.
Thanks to all who'll help, in advance. Once I find how to determine the 'sex' of this Holly I may buy one of the oppisite 'sex' to grow more of them; I think they're pretty, especially at Christmas, and I love to trim bushes into nice shapes. Thanks, again.
VB. I have grown my share of hollies over the years and here are a few things to think about...The little seedling you have found under your Cedar probably came from some birds dinner, they like holly berries, especially the robins. Being a seedling means it is very likely to have many unsatisfactory qualities vs. a good named variety on the market today that has been selected from literally thousands if not millions of seedlings. So the tree you have may not be very desirable but it has a story.
If you decide to move it do it in early spring before it starts to grow, like early March or end of Feb. Get some soil with the roots if you can and plant it immediately in a sunny, well drained soil location. Do NOT fertilize the first year, just keep it watered when the soil is dry, do not over water. Plant it at the same depth it is now. It will bloom in a couple of years and you can go from there. Earl