Hedges: Ilex opaca

description for "Hedges: Ilex opaca"

An evergreen small tree that can reach up to 50' in the southeastern United States. Most landscape plants, especially in the northern half of its range, are 15' to 30' tall. The tree is densely pyramidal when young, with branches to the ground; it becomes slightly more open with maturity, but still maintains roughly a pyramidal shape. Older plants have horizontal branching. Holly trees bloom with small white blossoms in the spring that mature into lovely red berries in the fall and last through the winter. --edited by dtd siegelgirl

History:

The American holly is native to the southeastern portion of the U.S. Also known as President Washington holly, it grows at one of the nation's most treasured estates, The President Washington American site, Mount Vernon - the Virginia estate on the Potomac River that George Washington called home. Washington led the Colonial Army in the American Revolution and went on to become the young nation's first president. From May 1775 to December 1783, Washington made it home to Mount Vernon for only 10 days. When his years of service to his country were over, landscaping and gardening became George Washington's primary daily activities. In 1792, he established an area specifically for "any and all kinds of plants fit for hedging," according to his journal entries. American holly, with its glossy leaves and bright red berries, is among the trees that abound in the hedges. 'George Washington' Holly Trees have grown from a seed hand picked from that holly.