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

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!!
--
Charlie Pridham, Gardening in Cornwall
www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of national collections of Clematis viticella cultivars and
Lapageria rosea

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,
rather than a different one. (I assume from this, the male I have is a
different species, although I don't know that for sure. I don't know
what part of the name gives the species).

Could you suggest a more suitable male then, if it is better to stick to
the same species? I am not sure what "the species" is in this case.
Sorry, this is not my area of expertise.

I gather one has to cut out any branches with non-vaginated leaves on
the vaginated hollies. Would having a non-vaginated male plant near the
females cause more non-vaginated branches?

Dave wrote:

I gather one has to cut out any branches with non-vaginated leaves on
the vaginated hollies. Would having a non-vaginated male

Oooh it's tempting, but I'll resist...

--
Jeff
(cut "thetape" to reply)

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

"Charlie Pridham" wrote in message
T...
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

Dave's species is aquifolium, Charlie, as signified by the aq after the
generic name.
My female hollies are pollinated by Ilex aquifolium 'Ferox Argentea', the
Silver Hedgehog Holly. It is an interesting holly in its own right (and
variegated, if this is important to the OP), having spines on the upper
suface of the leaf as well as the edges. Since the males cannot bear
berries(!), having this extra interest is a bonus. However, as you say, I.
'Silver Queen' is a good male plant, which is often recommended.

Spider

Charlie Pridham wrote:

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.

Did the information I gave not give the species of the females (Ilex aq
"Aureomarginata") ? The male is Ilex x meserveae (Blue Prince).


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.

There are a couple of hollies around, but I've no idea of the sex.

I originally bought one of them to fill a gap in a fence. Then due to a
number of dead trees which I had felled, the gap got bigger and bigger,
and ...bigger. These hollies are just too expensive to buy lots of and
fill the gap, so I am going to use something cheaper - laurel.

One of the hollies was £600, the other £300. Looking on the internet I
seem to see hollies (not the variegated) type at 2.5 m tall for around
£60, which makes me wonder why I paid so much for these. The largest is
a pretty big plant though - it is as much as I can do to drag the pot
along the ground, and have no chance to lift it. Someone is going to
give me help to put it in. Digging the whole is enough work!

dave

On 24/10/08 15:26, in article , "Dave"
wrote:
snip

One of the hollies was £600, the other £300. Looking on the internet I
seem to see hollies (not the variegated) type at 2.5 m tall for around
£60, which makes me wonder why I paid so much for these. The largest is
a pretty big plant though - it is as much as I can do to drag the pot
along the ground, and have no chance to lift it. Someone is going to
give me help to put it in. Digging the whole is enough work!

dave

Those prices seem very high but do we know where you live, Dave? If we do,
people here who live in that area might be able to direct you to a good
nursery for hedging plants. You could have a look at www.HedgesDirect.co.uk
for any further hedging needs or get bare root hedging from a reliable
source locally. This is coming up to the time to plant them.

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
(new website online)

Sacha wrote:
On 24/10/08 15:26, in article , "Dave"
wrote:
snip
One of the hollies was £600, the other £300. Looking on the internet I
seem to see hollies (not the variegated) type at 2.5 m tall for around
£60, which makes me wonder why I paid so much for these. The largest is
a pretty big plant though - it is as much as I can do to drag the pot
along the ground, and have no chance to lift it. Someone is going to
give me help to put it in. Digging the whole is enough work!

dave

Those prices seem very high but do we know where you live, Dave? If we do,
people here who live in that area might be able to direct you to a good
nursery for hedging plants. You could have a look at www.HedgesDirect.co.uk
for any further hedging needs or get bare root hedging from a reliable
source locally. This is coming up to the time to plant them.


Em,
I did wonder if I'd paid too much. The garden centre I bought these
from, Altons:

http://www.alton-gardencentre.co.uk/

is in supposed to be in Wickford, Essex, but it seems much closer to
Rayleigh to me. (It's on the A127 Southend Rd, if you know it). I
suspect it is not the cheapest by a long way, but their plans do seem to
be in good condition - unlike some of the others, where they try to sell
half-dead plants. I'm amazed what places like B+Q try to sell, but even
some decent sized garden centres around here have plants in poor
condition. Altons is a pretty large place, with a cafe inside etc. I do
not know of a larger place myself, but I am sure there are larger
places. They clearly are not set up for internet sales.

I can't afford to buy any more at £300-£600, but looking in any of the
garden centres around here, many plants are a lot of money. I might look
at other places online to buy other hollies to fill the gap in my hedge.
Apart from looking quite nice, they also add security, as their leaves
are not too inviting for intruders!


PS,
sorry about the bit about "Digging the whole is enough work!" I'm not
quite sure why I spent hole that way!

On 24/10/08 22:28, in article , "Dave"
wrote:

Sacha wrote:
On 24/10/08 15:26, in article , "Dave"
wrote:
snip
One of the hollies was £600, the other £300. Looking on the internet I
seem to see hollies (not the variegated) type at 2.5 m tall for around
£60, which makes me wonder why I paid so much for these. The largest is
a pretty big plant though - it is as much as I can do to drag the pot
along the ground, and have no chance to lift it. Someone is going to
give me help to put it in. Digging the whole is enough work!

dave

Those prices seem very high but do we know where you live, Dave? If we do,
people here who live in that area might be able to direct you to a good
nursery for hedging plants. You could have a look at www.HedgesDirect.co.uk
for any further hedging needs or get bare root hedging from a reliable
source locally. This is coming up to the time to plant them.


Em,
I did wonder if I'd paid too much. The garden centre I bought these
from, Altons:

http://www.alton-gardencentre.co.uk/

is in supposed to be in Wickford, Essex, but it seems much closer to
Rayleigh to me. (It's on the A127 Southend Rd, if you know it). I
suspect it is not the cheapest by a long way, but their plans do seem to
be in good condition - unlike some of the others, where they try to sell
half-dead plants. I'm amazed what places like B+Q try to sell, but even
some decent sized garden centres around here have plants in poor
condition. Altons is a pretty large place, with a cafe inside etc. I do
not know of a larger place myself, but I am sure there are larger
places. They clearly are not set up for internet sales.

Do look at the other hedge thread here and at the people I mentioned. I
don't know that bit of Essex but I imagine it's close enough to London to
push prices up? I think what you need is a nursery or a hedging specialist.
This Nursery is in Colchester - http://www.hedge-plants.co.uk/

My husband was born in Waltham Abbey and his family had a nursery in Upshire
so I've visited there and very lovely it is, too. BUT, being close to
London, the houses have been 'poshed up' and I think prices might reflect
that.

I can't afford to buy any more at £300-£600, but looking in any of the
garden centres around here, many plants are a lot of money. I might look
at other places online to buy other hollies to fill the gap in my hedge.
Apart from looking quite nice, they also add security, as their leaves
are not too inviting for intruders!

Online seems your best bet, IMO. Look at Glebe Farm hedging at the url I've
given above. But when planting a hedge, do be prepared to be patient for a
year or three. In the end, it pays off.


PS,
sorry about the bit about "Digging the whole is enough work!" I'm not
quite sure why I spent hole that way!

There's something about typing for newsgroups that sends everyone's spelling
haywire at times!

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
(new website online)

Spider wrote:

Dave's species is aquifolium, Charlie, as signified by the aq after the
generic name.
My female hollies are pollinated by Ilex aquifolium 'Ferox Argentea', the
Silver Hedgehog Holly. It is an interesting holly in its own right (and
variegated, if this is important to the OP), having spines on the upper
suface of the leaf as well as the edges. Since the males cannot bear
berries(!), having this extra interest is a bonus. However, as you say, I.
'Silver Queen' is a good male plant, which is often recommended.

Spider


--------------
Hi,
I would have replied earlier, but did not see your message contents. In
my computer (which is not a typical home computer, but a Sun Blade 2000
workstation running Solaris 10), with the Thunderbird mail client, the
font you used is very very faint. I could barely see the text.

You might want to check out if others have difficulty reading your
posts. Perhaps it is just me. As I say, this is far from a typical home
computer, with its SPARC processor which could not run Windows even if I
wanted - which I don't!!

When I hit reply, with the expectation of your post appearing, it was
not readable at all. I'm not sure what the problem is..

Anyway, thank you for explaining this, and suggestion of Silver
Hedgehog. It sounds quite an attractive looking plant. I looked on the
internet and can get that very cheaply and easily, so I'll perhaps buy
one of them. Another option would be to buy several and fill the gap in
my hedge, but I rather want something to grow there quickly, and hollies
are not very fast growing. That said, I do like the security they offer.

Sacha wrote:
On 24/10/08 22:28, in article , "Dave"

Do look at the other hedge thread here and at the people I mentioned. I
don't know that bit of Essex but I imagine it's close enough to London to
push prices up? I think what you need is a nursery or a hedging specialist.
This Nursery is in Colchester - http://www.hedge-plants.co.uk/

Thank you for the suggestion. Colchester is not that far from me (~ 30
miles), but I don't know if that nursery only sells via the internet.
But I have no problem with that - it is cheaper generally than paying
the fuel.

My husband was born in Waltham Abbey and his family had a nursery in Upshire
so I've visited there and very lovely it is, too. BUT, being close to
London, the houses have been 'poshed up' and I think prices might reflect
that.

Perhaps so.

I can't afford to buy any more at £300-£600, but looking in any of the
garden centres around here, many plants are a lot of money. I might look
at other places online to buy other hollies to fill the gap in my hedge.
Apart from looking quite nice, they also add security, as their leaves
are not too inviting for intruders!

Online seems your best bet, IMO. Look at Glebe Farm hedging at the url I've
given above. But when planting a hedge, do be prepared to be patient for a
year or three. In the end, it pays off.

Unfortunately, quite a mature hedge got destroyed by a mixture of
woodworm in some trees, and ivy sufforcating others. So I have quite a
large gap. Living on a reasonably busy road, I want something almost
instant. But clearly costs rises dramatically with the sizes of the plants.


PS,
sorry about the bit about "Digging the whole is enough work!" I'm not
quite sure why I spent hole that way!

There's something about typing for newsgroups that sends everyone's spelling
haywire at times!


English never was my strongest subject (I'm a scientist/engineer), but
even I was surprised I could spell hole with a w in front!

dave

The message
from Dave contains these words:

I originally bought one of them to fill a gap in a fence. Then due to a
number of dead trees which I had felled, the gap got bigger and bigger,
and ...bigger. These hollies are just too expensive to buy lots of and
fill the gap, so I am going to use something cheaper - laurel.

I could find you numbers of holly seedlings...

--
Rusty
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk
Separator in search of a sig

The message
from Dave contains these words:

Em,
I did wonder if I'd paid too much. The garden centre I bought these
from, Altons:

http://www.alton-gardencentre.co.uk/

is in supposed to be in Wickford, Essex, but it seems much closer to
Rayleigh to me. (It's on the A127 Southend Rd, if you know it). I
suspect it is not the cheapest by a long way, but their plans do seem to
be in good condition - unlike some of the others, where they try to sell
half-dead plants. I'm amazed what places like B+Q try to sell, but even
some decent sized garden centres around here have plants in poor
condition. Altons is a pretty large place, with a cafe inside etc. I do
not know of a larger place myself, but I am sure there are larger
places. They clearly are not set up for internet sales.

Well, I know the area - or did. I'm afraid you're being charged Basildon
prices.

Try looking in Romford Market.

I can't afford to buy any more at £300-£600, but looking in any of the
garden centres around here, many plants are a lot of money. I might look
at other places online to buy other hollies to fill the gap in my hedge.

Holly grows quite quickly. Well, like a rocket. Just plant some berries
- or seeds from them, in moist compost. You should get approaching one
plant per seed if you keep them moist and shaded. If you let them rip,
they'll reach twelve feet in around five years. (I just cut down a
twelve-footer which was less than two feet high four years ago.)

Apart from looking quite nice, they also add security, as their leaves
are not too inviting for intruders!

Nah! When I was a young Bug (Brentwood Schoolboy, for the uninitiated)
we used to leap out of our dorm window into the holly hedge beneath. It
wasn't so high as to be growing the non-prickly leaves, and a 'proper'
jump had to be done in pyjamas, or less.

--
Rusty
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk
Separator in search of a sig

The message
from Dave contains these words:

I would have replied earlier, but did not see your message contents. In
my computer (which is not a typical home computer, but a Sun Blade 2000
workstation running Solaris 10), with the Thunderbird mail client, the
font you used is very very faint. I could barely see the text.

You might want to check out if others have difficulty reading your
posts. Perhaps it is just me.

No problems here.

As I say, this is far from a typical home
computer, with its SPARC processor which could not run Windows even if I
wanted - which I don't!!

Can't think why not: everyone needs a little excitement - a crash here,
a blue screen there, the odd lock-up...

When I hit reply, with the expectation of your post appearing, it was
not readable at all. I'm not sure what the problem is..

Perhaps Solaris doesn't have that particular font in its armoury? It's
not down to Thunderbird.

Anyway, thank you for explaining this, and suggestion of Silver
Hedgehog. It sounds quite an attractive looking plant. I looked on the
internet and can get that very cheaply and easily, so I'll perhaps buy
one of them. Another option would be to buy several and fill the gap in
my hedge, but I rather want something to grow there quickly, and hollies
are not very fast growing. That said, I do like the security they offer.

Hollies aren't quick-growing?

Pull the other one!

--
Rusty
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk
Separator in search of a sig