In article , says...
Charlie Pridham wrote:
In article , says...
Hi,
This is my first post to this newsgroup.

I need some advice, as I have been given two very different opinions on
this.

I have recently purchased two quite large holly trees (Ilex aq
"Aureomarginata") which are a variegated type (leaves are green in the
middle, with a lighter colour on the edges). One is about 1.75 m tall,
the other around 2.5 m tall.

Both have lots of red berries. When I bought the holly trees, I was
advised by the garden centre that to keep the red berries I would need
to put a male holly tree nearby. I was told any cheap one would do, and
it did not have to be large, so there was no need to buy an expensive
tree. (The two large female trees came to nearly £900 for the pair).

I bought a holly around 750 mm tall, called Ilex x meserveae. The label
says on it 'Blue Prince', but on looking this up on the internet, it
seems to be called Blue Princess on most sites! This does *not* have
variegated leaves.


1) Is the non-vaginated type suitable to pollinate the two larger trees?
The lady at the garden centre said this was suitable, but a neighbour,
who is a keen gardener and has worked in the gardening industry for some
years, says that the non-vaginated type is not suitable for a vaginated
one.

So is this male tree suitable or not? If not, can you suggest a more
suitable male tree to have nearby?

2) Is a 750 mm male tree sufficiently large to pollinate the two much
larger female hollies? The male tree will be less than 10 m away from
the larger female hollies.


Having spent quite a bit of money on the two larger female trees, I'd
rather get another male tree if a more suitable one exists.

Dave


Any male holly will do the job. although it would have been better to
stick to the same species they cross polinate fine and size really
doesn't matter!!

What advantages would there be in having the same species as a male,

The different species may have slightly different flowering periods as
they come from all over the world. Not knowing the species of your two
variegated plants its difficult to make suggestions but a good male plant
is 'Silver Queen' and no the use of a plain leafed holly will not cause
any increase in reversion, this is not a major problem with hollies in
any case.
I would be surprised if there were not a male holly around that would do
the job they are surprisingly common plants. I grow a lot of Hollies as
they are shade and salt tolerant, can be clipped and pruned as required
plus look good all year.
--
Charlie Pridham, Gardening in Cornwall
www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of national collections of Clematis viticella cultivars and
Lapageria rosea