Holly of the Year

The Holly Society of America, Inc. (P.O. Box 803, Millville, NJ
08332, phone 856-825-4300, web site http://www.hollysocam.org/) has
named Ilex opaca ŒSatyr Hill¹ as the 2003 Holly of the Year. Here is
more information on this cultivar from the HSA:

ŒSatyr Hill¹ ... was found as a volunteer seedling and developed at
McLean¹s Nursery in Towson, Maryland, by Stewart McLean....
ŒSatyr Hill¹ has large, dark olive green leaves that are about 2-3/8"
long and 2" wide. They are glossy, broadly oval, and nearly flat, with
five or six spines on each side. The fruit is bright red and about 3/8"
in diameter. Berries are borne singly and are nicely spaced. Full color
is reached in late October in Zone 6. Berry retention is excellent,
lasting all winter and into the spring, when robins eat them. This
holly¹s beautiful berries and foliage make it highly suitable for
wreaths and other cut holly uses, where it has proven to hold up
extremely well.
ŒSatyr Hill¹ is a vigorous grower with a compact, upright habit. The
original registrant was about 9' tall and wide at 10 years in Zone 7.
The plant should be hardy to Zone 5.
A beautiful holly, ŒSatyr Hill¹ makes a wonderful landscape plant
suitable for use as a striking specimen or grouped with other material
at the back of a mixed border or in the center of an island bed.... [or]
as an understory plant in naturalistic or woodland settings. As with
other American hollies, it is suitable too for use in hedges or
screening plantings.
The best mail order source for both wholesale and retail container
stock of ŒSatyr Hill¹ is Holly Ridge Nursery, 5925 S. Ridge Rd., West
Geneva, OH 44041, phone 800-465-5901.
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Reprinted with permission from the July 2003 _HortIdeas_. Copyright 2003
by Greg and Pat Williams. HORTIDEAS (ISSN 0742-8219) is published
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--
Bob Batson


"Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines"