Photo Credit: R. A. Nonenmacher, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Phonetic: EYE-leks
#1 Pot - 18-24" Shrub
Mountain Holly is an uncommon shrub of wet places but should be planted above the water line when used for naturalizing. It is fairly easy to recognize when flowering or fruiting, with long-stalked bright red fruits or pale flowers with ribbon-like petals. When flowers and fruits are absent, the leaves may help distinguish it: 1 to 2 inches long, hairless, toothless or with a few teeth at the tip, often with a minute point at the apex, and the leaf stalk usually purplish. The related Winterberry (Ilex verticillata) has larger, toothed leaves with hairy leaf stalks and small clusters of short-stalked flowers and fruits. Male and female flowers are usually borne on separate plants. It is a host plant for the caterpillars of the Columbia silkmoth, which has an impressive 3.5-inch wingspan.
- Hardiness Zone: 3-6
- Native Northeast Region: USDA Database
- Sun Exposure: Partial shade to full sun
- Flower Color: white, Yellowish
- Bloom Time: May, June
- Soil Type: Medium wet to wet
- Mature Plant Size: 5-9' Height, 3-6' Width
- Plant Spacing: 4'
- Host Plant: Columbia silkmoth
- Attracts: Birds, Butterflies
- Advantages:
- Landscape Uses: Naturalized, specimen, fruiting
- Companion Plants: Highbush Blueberry, American Cranberrybush
