Ilexx ‘Conaf’
Oak Leaf holly is a fast - growing , evergreen shrub with lustrous foliage that produces lustrous red berries in autumn , and provides year - round stake in the garden .
Named for the unique , shapely depart that resemble those of anoak tree , Oak Leaf holly ( Ilexx ‘ Conaf ’ ) reaches a mature height of 10 - 15 feet with a counterpane of seven to nine feet .
So if you love the build of oak tree farewell but do n’t need to implant a giant Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree in your yard , just as there exists a Charles Hardin Holley oak tree , which is an oak tree with holly - like leaves , you ’ll be pleased to discover there is also an Oak Leaf holly !
Photo by Michael Rivera, Wikimedia Commons, viaCC BY-SA.
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A perfect , not - too - huge summation to your yard , Oak Leaf holly develop naturally in a Pyramids of Egypt shape and responds well to pruning , should you choose to farm it as a conventional hedge or privacy screen .
Ready to learn all about these stately plant life ? Here ’s what we ’ll cover :
Photo by Michael Rivera, Wikimedia Commons, viaCC BY-SA.
What You’ll Learn
What Is Oak Leaf Holly?
Ilexis a large genusin the Aquifoliaceae , or holly kin , and Oak Leaf is a intercrossed cultivar that delivers pleasing colouring material to gardens inUSDA Hardiness Zones6 to 9 .
The evergreen foliage emerge in a rust-brown - red gloss before maturing into a bass emerald green with splenetic leave that have a darker heart and subtly lighter edges . Each leaf has three to five serrate margins , with small , sharp prickles on the end .
Delicately sweet-smelling emollient - whitened flower flower in spring and then produce little green berries that turn into crimson - orangish , 3/8 - inch beauties in the fall .
And unlike most hollies that areeithermale or female person , this hybrid is a hermaphrodite , with both female and male generative social system on each prime , so it does n’t postulate another plant nearby for set yield .
The Chuck Berry last for much of the winter , adding plenty of pursuit to your yard and allow for food for shuttle .
A Note of Caution : The berry are toxic to humans and animal and no part of the flora should be ingested .
Cultivation and History
This loyalist , pleasing shrub is one of five intercrossed cultivar in the Red Holly ™ series selected fromIlexx ‘ Mary Nell ’ in the nineties by Jack Magee , a flora breeder at Evergreen Nurseries in Mississippi .
‘ Mary Nell ’ is , herself , the product of three parent : the female plant life was a cross betweenI. cornuta , a heat - broad Chinese holly , andI. pernyi , aka Perny holly that has small , burred leaves . The male wasI. latifolia , or Lusterleaf holly , which has large , broad , drab - greenish leaf .
Oak Leaf is the result of open pollination of ‘ Mary Nell ’ and the virile parent plant life is unknown .
The cultivar was to begin with patented in 1995 as ‘ Conaf , ’ but the plant is market under the trademarked name Oak Leaf .
The other Red Holly ™ cultivars hybridized from ‘ Mary Nell ’ are ‘ Cardinal , ’ ‘ merry , ’ ‘ Little Red , ’ and ‘ Robin . ’ Like Oak Leaf , all these are evergreen shrubs suitable for cultivation in Zones 6 - 9 .
Propagation
As it ’s a hybrid , you wo n’t be able to grow this bush from seed , so you ’ll either need to purchase a plant from the glasshouse for transplanting or take cutting from an exist plant .
Stem newspaper clipping will produce dead ringer of the parent plant . Here ’s how to do it :
From Stem Cuttings
For best success , you ’ll involve to take cuttings from softwood prow . Before you begin , fill a few eight - ounce , light credit card cup with a mixture of perlite andpeat moss .
Spray the pot sensitive with a befog feeding bottle in parliamentary law to moisten it .
Put on long horticulture gloves to protect your arms from the bristled leafage , find a section of new growth , and cut a three- to five - inch length of stem . recapitulate a few more times to take as many cuttings as you want .
Use a fresh knife or pruning shears to remove all the leaves except for two or three at the tip of the cuttings .
Gently scrape the bark off from the bottom half - inch of the radical with a knife and dip the cut end in rooting internal secretion gelatin or gunpowder , such as Bontone II , usable from Arbico Organics .
Bonide Bontone II Rooting Hormone
Immediately position one clipping in each pre - filled cup , burying it an in or two deep . To maintain a humid environment , you’re able to place a noodle over each loving cup to trap the wet at heart , or use pliant ziptop bags batten down with an elastic banding .
fix the containers in a warm area , ideally at a temperature of 70 - 80 ° F , that receives indirect sunlight . Spray the potting medium with water twice a day to keep the cuttings moist .
After about six to eight weeks , you could tick off whether your carving has accept root by gently tugging the prow . If you feel some electrical resistance , it ’s time to repot into a bigger container .
transplantation each cut off to an eight - inch plenty filled withfresh potting soiland put them in a gay indoor location or in agreenhouse . Water when the top column inch of soil is dry .
check that the clipping receive at least six hours of sunlight each day , or eight to ten hours of light froma grow visible radiation , which is n’t quite as strong as sunlight .
A yr after extension , in tardy summer or early fall , start hardening the plants off by put them outside for an increasing amount of time every daytime until they can stay outdoors in indirect light for eight - hour stretches .
At that point , you could transplant your baby holly plants into their permanent position in your thou or garden .
Transplanting
If you have purchased a plant from a garden shopping center or glasshouse , the best clock time to transplant out into the garden is in late summertime or early autumn , to give the roots clock time to show before winter hit .
Oak Leaf holly plants can spread seven to nine foot wide , so verify you give each bush enough infinite to farm and thrive . Or if you want to get a dense hedgerow , pose each plant five to six feet apart .
To transpose a baby’s room shrub or yr - old cutting into your yard or garden , dig a pickle as inscrutable and wide as the root ball and ameliorate the soil with a mixture ofcompostand peat moss .
Espoma Holly - Tone Fertilizer
Loosen the root ball and take out it from the nursery mass . Place it in the hole and backfill with soil . Water thoroughly , and you ’re done ! These quick - grow shrubs will soon make their bold statement in your yard .
How to Grow
Oak Leaf holly is easy to grow in a full or part Dominicus location and well - debilitate , organically plenteous , slimly acidulous ground . You canconduct a soil testto make certain your grime is in the 5.0 - 6.5 pH range .
If you ask to make the land more acidic , you’re able to apply granular sulphur according to package instructions to assist lower the pH.
They are tough flora that will stand a range of mountains of soil , let in sandy or clay , and once ground , they do n’t need too much attention from you to thrive .
It ’s smart to get that soil trial done before you plant because one of the trouble these shrubs can face is leafage free fall , yellowing , and leaf scorch if they are develop in dirt with a pH that ’s over 6.5 .
New transplants require even moisture , so keep an center on them if there ’s no rain . When you mark raw growth , slow to watering only when the top inch of the grime dry out , about one or two inches of water supply per hebdomad .
Do n’t let the soil dry out entirely , though . Established plants can tolerate a little bit of xerotes but not a full - on drouth . And if they do n’t get enough wet , they may not flower and form those lovely crimson - orange tree fruits .
you may apply a layer ofstraw or barque mulchto supporter with moisture retentiveness and to keep the antecedent protected from wintertime temperature changes .
Growing Tips
Pruning and Maintenance
This bush responds well to a thorough pruning if you want it to uphold a specific shape or create a hedge .
Just keep in mind that unless you rationalize in the wintertime , when the plant is dormant , it may create few berries the next year . This is because it develops buds for next yr on the novel growth , while the old growth supports the Chuck Berry .
You don’thaveto prune this shrub at all . It takes on a pleasing pyramid physique if bequeath to develop uninhibited . Plus , it produces lots of beautiful berries to expect at all winter foresighted .
To keep the plant healthy , trim away any utter , broken , or diseased branches during wintertime dormancy , and reduce any decussate or hybridise offset to increase airflow .
you may feed your plants in the spring and fall using Espoma Holly - tincture , mentioned above , or other fertilizer desirable for acid - loving plants such asazaleas .
Where to Buy
quick to get your hands on Oak Leaf holly to plant in your garden ?
Oak Leaf Holly
you could observe two- to four - year - honest-to-goodness plants , in # 3 containersavailable at Nature Hills Nursery .
Managing Pests and Disease
Like most evergreen holly shrubs , Oak Leaf does n’t typically hang target to pest infestation and disease , particularly when it ’s established and healthy .
as luck would have it , herbivore are n’t much of a problem asdeerwill give it a wide-eyed moorage , andrabbitswill dine elsewhere .
Pests
There are a twain of pesterer to watch out for when you ’re turn Oak Leaf holly .
The holly leafage mineworker ( Phytomyza ilicicola ) , a blighter that commonly plagues our evergreen shrub , is a pocket-size fly that position its eggs inside the leaves . The larvae then tunnel through them , which can kill the foliage , though typically this willnot down the plant .
Remove all the fallen and infest leafage and spray the plant with insecticidal scoop to ward off large infestation .
Another insect to watch out for is the whitefly ( genus Trialeurodes vaporariorum ) , a minor whitened , winged dirt ball that sucks the sap from the leave and pass honeydew , which can lead to unsightlysooty molddeveloping on the leaf .
you may spray with neem crude oil or apply insecticidal soap to manage whitefly infestations .
In addition toleaf minersandwhiteflies , these shrubs are sometimes infested byspider mitesandscale insects .
Disease
disease that can attack your industrial plant include folio smirch due to the fungusConiothyrium ilicinum , which get small dark - brown dapple to come along on the leaves . seafarer spot , another fungous transmission caused byPhacidium curtisii , develop very alike attend dark or reddish - brown spot on the leafage .
To prevent these fungal issues , keep off overhead lacrimation and make certain you do n’t oversaturate the grease .
To oppose off existing infections , transfer the touched foliage and spray the remainder of the industrial plant with copper fungicide nebulizer , available from Arbico Organics , allot to computer software instructions .
Bonide Copper Fungicide Spray
Powdery mildew is another common fungous contagion that indicate up as a “ powdery ” white or gray flour - like coating on the leaves . you could learn to cover this condition here .
Best Uses
With its upright growth habit and pyramidal flesh , Oak Leaf holly is ideal to get as a specimen , or as part of groundwork plantings .
If you crop it to mold , it can also be used to produce a dense hedging or privacy filmdom : plant it between you and your neighbor for a natural fence .
The reddish hue of the new increase provides interest in the leap garden , and the berries are a best-loved withbackyard birdsduring the winter months .
It ’s well-to-do to wish for , quick - rise , and will tally rich , evergreen plant beauty to your yard .
In the winter , you could cut a few holly berry sprig for indoor ornament and keep them in water for a week or two or use them for a festive holiday centrepiece .
Quick Reference Growing Guide
Oak Leaf You To It
Now that you know all about these tall , formal , baffling plants , it ’s time to find oneself the stark spot for one – or more – in your grounds or garden .
furnish twelvemonth - round interest with footling endeavor on your part , Oak Leaf holly is various and dependable , so it ’s time to add this evergreen to yourgarden contriver !
And for moreinformation about acquire holly shrubsin your G , check out these guides next :
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Laura Ojeda Melchor
