Ilex

The cultivation and breeding of Ilex, also known as Holly, requires patience, a lot of patience. But then it yields something special: branches brimming with berries, from bright red to lemon yellow. The holly comes into its own especially at Christmas and is therefore widely used at this time.

The name Ilex is derived from the Latin name for holm oak (Quercus ilex). The leaves bear some resemblance. The second name 'verticillata' means wreath-shaped. This refers to the position of the leaves, but they are already off. All attention to the berries! Only the female shrubs of Ilex verticillata form berries. Nevertheless, there are also male plants in every nursery. These are needed for pollination and berry formation, where growers are helped by bees. Literally the story of the flowers and bees.

The cultivation of Ilex is special because of its two-year cycle. In the first year, the shrub only produces branches. In the second year - in spring - small flowers follow. When these are pollinated, they grow into berries. For this you need pollinators; hence the hives in the field. In the berry year, the plants are also staked around (with a spade or machine). This gives them a hard time for a while, resulting in nice short side branches and densely packed berries. After harvesting the berry branches, the two-year cycle starts again.