Some holly bushes (Ilex spp.), featuring various distinguishing traits, are outstanding plants for designing into shapes. Creating these living sculptures is called topiary, with the earliest references to this art form dating back to 23 to 79 A.D. Holly bushes are known for their attractive fruit, known as drupe, which add off-season interest to your landscape. However, most varieties require a nearby male pollinator to produce them. Holly bushes are typically, but not always, evergreen, prefer moist soil and grow in full sun to partial shade.
Yaupon holly (Ilex vomitoria) and the variety “Pride of Houston” (Ilex vomitoria “Pride of Houston) have striking mottled bark and glossy, dark green leaves. These hollies bear very small, red drupe measuring less than 1/4 inch in diameter and don’t require a male pollinator. Yaupon holly features an oval or rounded canopy and scaly or smooth bark, while “Pride of Houston” has an oval canopy and smooth bark. These amenable hollies grow in highly acidic to highly alkaline soil in USDA zones 8 through 10.
Short and Spineless
Certain short holly bushes with spineless leaves are just the right choice for designing topiary. Dwarf yaupon holly “Nana” (Ilex vomitoria) grows 4 to 7 feet tall, when pruned infrequently, and its round canopy is ideal for clipping into a globe shape. It offers gray-green leaves, grows in USDA zones 7 through 10 and seldom bears drupe. The small dark green leaves on Japanese holly (Ilex crenata) make this 3- to 10-foot tall shrub look more like a boxwood (Buxus spp.) than a holly bush. It features very small, black drupe and typically grows in USDA zones 6 through 8. Cultivars of Japanese holly include the dwarf variety “Helleri,” which grows 2 to 3 feet tall, and “Twiggy” with a pyramidal shape.
The unusual shapes of the glossy, medium-green foliage on certain hollies add to the interest of your topiary design. Chinese holly (Ilex cornuta) has rectangular leaves, grows about 20 feet tall in USDA zones 7 through 9 and tolerates wet soil. Perny holly (Ilex pernyi) has leaves with a square base and grows about 35 feet tall in USDA zones 6 through 9. Both of these hollies have thorns, oval or rounded canopies and produce small, red drupe.
The atypical traits of “Van Tol” English holly add intrigue to your topiary. While most hollies have inconspicuous flowers and small drupe, “Van Tol” displays conspicuous clusters of white flowers in spring, followed by medium-size drupe 1/2 to 1 1/2 inches in diameter in winter. Taller than many varieties, this lofty holly, covered in glossy dark green leaves, slowly grows about 50 feet tall. “Van Tol” offers an oval canopy and grows in USDA zones 7a to 10a.