Holly JC Van Tol
We all love the Holly bush, however it is extremely frustrating when they don’t form the berries which we have been eagerly awaiting. Try Holly JC Van Tol.
I have planted Holly bushes on a number of occasions, a male and a female form to ensure pollination and hopefully get a bush smothered in berries. Others which I have planted were said to be self pollinating, still never had success.
A couple of years ago, a friend which I help with in their garden was given a gift of two standard Hollies. The variety was (J C Van Tol) I planted these two self fertilizing forms of Holly in there front garden. In the second year after planting, both of these standard shrubs were smothered in berries come late Autumn.
I definitely intend getting this Holly for our own garden soon.
JC Van Tol has dark green glossy leaves which are almost but not quite spineless. Stems are an attractive deep purple, and apparently JC is renowned for being an excellent berrier, (not such a word but I think there should be) This Holly is particularly suitable for coastal areas, good news for us Aberdonians, and is said to do well enough in a shady spot. I think that I would plant it in a sunny position as is the plant above, I would feel more convinced that it would form berry’s.
The Holly which I planted is of course a standard, if you were to be interested in planting a hedge of this variety here is a
Mail order (Shrub form only)
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I will be so pleased like the most of you to see the end of this miserably cold harsh Winter. We had to cancel our Christmas family get together in Cheshire because of the Snow. At least the snow has now gone, however the hard frost has created numerous potholes on our roads, just waiting for the press and the public to kick off. The patching job which they do on these tarmac roads is always a very temporary fix. Tar! is this what you guys in America call (black top) I was reading a Dean Koontz book and he often referred to black top.
The greenhouses I have not been near for weeks. Just hoping the low temperature hasn’t destroyed some of the container grown perennials.
Myra I had to take to the emergency surgery on Sunday. She had a painful severe raised rash on the left hand side of her face going through to her head. Didn’t want to mess about, thought it was an infection which would require antibiotics. Turned out to be shingles, very nasty.
Oh my god, doom and gloom, promise not to be such a miserable git next time we talk.
© 2011 – 2016, Alistair. All rights reserved.
Great to see you find a holy bush that can work for you. I hope it will.
Be careful with the snow. and I hope Myra gets better soon.
Same here Alistair, can’t wait for spring!
I do love the form and structure of hollies, just a pain tidying up the fallen leaves during summer. Ilex angustifolia is also worth keeping an eye on.
Ouch! Wishing Myra a speedy recovery!
Cheers, always appreciate your plant options. And thanks to all for wishing Myra well.
Alistair, so sorry to hear about Myra, Shingles is nasty, hope she recovers soon. I have botrytis in my greenhouse, I’m going to have to use the dehumidifier in there I think…
Thanks Janet, Botrytis is a nuisance, we could get a sulphur candle and stick Myra in your greenhouse for 45mins. (cmon only joking)
Eek, sorry about the shingles! That never sounds like any fun — my mom had it a few years ago and I was impressed (not in a good way).
On a brighter note those holly standards are lovely!
Oh my. Poor Myra. I wish her a very fast recovery. I love the holly standard. This is a great specimen and hopefully you will have the same performance. The pots holes are so common here. Other places, not so much. When they do a cold patch application, it always seems to crumble away in no time. For all your car’s sake, hope they get it repaired right.
(Alistair – Top right I have a link for RSS feed, and just above the ClustrMap is a link for Posts via Atom. Will either of those do? Or put me in your Google Reader? Unlike you I have not worked out how to add an email subscription option)
Shingles. Nasty, especially on her face. At least mine was on my stomach. I remember pain so severe I held my breath, nothing in the world but me and my pain. But it did pass quickly. Hope your Myra is already at the past quickly stage!
Thanks for the information, I suspect wordpress makes this application easier. Thanks for asking about Myra, still at the severe stage.
Your standard hollies are beautiful. I planted four ‘Nellie Stevens’ hollies, a male and three females, a long time ago (I am embarrassed to say how long), and they never produced any berries. I meant to look into it but never had time—I run a nursery. Inspired by Donna at GWGT, I went out to cut big branches to put in a vase for Christmas only to find a few berries on all four trees (that’s how big they are). Asphalt and black top are roughly equivalent to your tarmac, although I believe asphalt is the actual road surface, and black top is the coating.
Mark and Gaz of Alternative Eden say Ilex Angustifolia is another Holly to consider. Thank for the info on black top.