Yaupon Holly: An Unsung Hero

I first purchased yaupon holly because I wanted something that would not die. I was frustrated with azaleas and other plants that had suffered in the summer heat and bright sun of the front garden. I wanted an unfinicky plant to provide evergreen structure to the garden, and, among all plants in my garden, it has succeeded beyond my expectations.

In 1993, a blizzard, a once in a lifetime experience here in the Deep South, dumped three feet of snow atop recently planted 'Compacta' yaupons, a dwarf variety in the front garden. Though many other plants were damaged, the yaupons were unfazed. Since then they have patiently endured blazing heat, draught, and torrential rainfalls. A native of the southeastern USA, this is one tough plant that suffers from commonality but nevertheless continues on as an unsung hero.

Top left: A summer view of yaupons amidst other shrubs growing in the front garden. Top right: In a fall view of another part of the front garden, dwarf yaupons grow in association with silvery artemesia 'powis castle' and nandina 'firepower'. A brilliant Japanese maple grows in the background. Lower left and right photos both show dwarf yaupons growing in the woodland garden, late winter. Note the looser, more natural form of these less pruned specimens.

Yaupon holly, Ilex vomitoria, acquired its botanical name from a Native American custom of using the plant to make a strong tea for use in certain purification ceremonies, which involved vomiting. Not a glamourous name, but I think they are beautiful. Yaupon holly may grow as an evergreen shrub or as a small upright or weeping tree. The females produce bright red berries that are an important food source for many birds. We have a weeping yaupon holly tree near the glass doors in our kitchen, and it is a joy to watch the birds in this tree in late winter. I once saw a flock of mockingbirds strip it of its berries in a single day.We have a good view from our kitchen table of this weeping yaupon holly and its popular berries.

The shrub forms look a lot like boxwoods, with small glossy leaves, dark green above with slightly paler undersides, and the dense, slow growing shrubs are easily pruned into hedges of various shapes. My oldest 'Compacta' matured to about five feet tall and wide. At first I planted my immature plants too close together and eventually had to remove about half of them because they were growing into each other. Yaupon is a common landscape plant, and I often see rows of these things in front of pharmacies and quickie marts, all grown together to form undulating worms. Not the look I was after! The good thing is that I only paid a few dollars each for small ones, so I didn't feel too guilty.

Yaupons grow best in partial shade to full sun in hardiness zones 7 to 10 and will grow in clay, loam, and sandy soils. They tolerate salt spray, wind, and heat and adapt to a wide variety of soil moisture conditions. They are rarely bothered by disease or pests and succeed when many other evergreen hollies struggle.

I like the looser look of a minimally pruned yaupon, and this is how they grow in the woodland areas of my garden. I only snip wild shoots once a year on these, and I would prefer to do the same for the ones in the front garden. But this is where marital compromise has asserted itself. Lou is the owner of a power hedge trimmer, and he loves to use that thing. I have given the ancient boxwoods that grow around the foundation of our house over to him, after clear instructions on how to prune them. He does an admirable job, though sometimes scalping them too severely for my taste.

But a man with a power tool is a man on a mission, and sometimes he casts his eyes upon my yaupons, and if they are growing out of bounds according to his taste, he is sorely tempted. More than once he has sheared them into harsh balls I despise. I prefer to use a good quality manual hedge trimmer, a much more precise tool that gives a softer look and damages the leaves less. Power trimmers, though faster, leave brown edges where they rip through the leaves.

I trim the dwarf yaupons after new growth begins in spring and again in fall as needed. It is important to trim yaupons, boxwoods, and similar shrubs so that the widest part of the plant is at the bottom, tapering slightly toward the top. This allows sunlight to get to the bottom branches. Too often shrubs are pruned only across the top, resulting in sparse or even naked bottoms, not a pretty sight!

I hope you are having a great week!   Deborah

Tea Olive for Fragrance

It could happen in the garden district of New Orleans or on Grandma's back porch in Mississippi. You stop and sniff.

What is that wonderful smell? Is it a rose? Or is it jasmine? Maybe a gardenia?

You look for blooms. No luck. Sniffing like a bloodhound, you finally run into a dense evergreen shrub, and there, tucked away in the deep green foliage, are clusters of tiny flowers. You have discovered the sweet Tea Olive, and you will never forget the fragrance. You are enchanted for life.

Tea Olives (Osmanthus) grow in the Deep South and other parts of the country in hardiness zones 7-10. Another name is False Holly, and they do look similar to hollies but can be easily distinguished by looking at the leaves. Holly leaves grow in an alternate pattern, while tea olive leaves grow opposite each other. Osmanthus heterophyllus is also called holly tea olive. It is one of the shorter varieties of tea olive. 'Goshiki' is a variegated cultivar I grow in my garden. There are many varieties. With a naturally upright shape, plants may reach 6 to 30 feet tall, depending on the type or cultivar. They are often used as screens or hedges, but they may also be featured as specimens. Osmanthus fragrans is another type of tea olive I grow. This is a young specimen. In a garden setting it should have a slow to moderate growth rate to 6-10 feet tall and about 5 feet wide, though ultimately it could reach 20 feet.Some make beautiful small trees, while others can be maintained as low as 4 feet. Be sure to check the ultimate size of the shrub before planting, so that you get the right cultivar for your needs. All have tiny fragrant flowers, which can be creamy white to gold or orange.

If planted in the right location, these are great low maintenance shrubs, which is why I have chosen them for my garden. They have a naturally pleasing upright form, and pruning is optional, though one may prune them in early spring to encourage lush growth or to maintain size. They adapt to many soils, though they are happiest in moist, well drained, acidic soil, the type of soil also loved by azaleas and camellias. 

They are tough plants that thrive on neglect, though I do fertilize in spring with an organic fertilizer for acid loving plants. Once established they are moderately drought tolerant, and they are also pest, deer, and disease resistent. They like sun to partial shade; in deeper shade they may be spindly and not produce as many flowers. 

Hummingbirds and butterflies are attracted to the flowers. Most tea olives bloom from September through fall, and in some locations through the winter. One type, Osmanthus delavay, produces spring blooms. If you choose to prune this one, be sure to do so after it has finished blooming in spring, to avoid cutting off the flowers. 

Tea Olives are long lived, enduring, and sweetly enticing; it's easy to understand why Osmanthus is a traditional symbol of romance. I am hopelessly sentimental, and I can't imagine my garden without these delightful shrubs.