Holly of the Year

[Bob Batson]

Holly of the Year

The Holly Society of America, Inc. (P.O. Box 803, Millville, NJ

08332, phone [phone], web site has named Ilex opaca ?Satyr Hill¹ as the 2003 Holly of the Year. Here is more information on this cultivar from the HSA:

?Satyr Hill¹ ... was found as a volunteer seedling and developed at McLean¹s Nursery in Towson, Maryland, by Stewart McLean.... ?Satyr 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. ?Satyr 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, ?Satyr 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 ?Satyr Hill¹ is Holly Ridge Nursery, 5925 S. Ridge Rd., West Geneva, OH 44041, phone [phone].

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