Holly BushesA Grower's Guide to Holly
Holly Types

Chinese Holly

Chinese holly (Ilex cornuta) is a heat-tolerant evergreen best known through the Burford holly — glossy, nearly spineless, and loaded with red berries without needing a separate male.

The easy Southern holly

Ilex cornuta thrives where summers are hot and is a mainstay of Southern landscapes. Its most popular selection, Burford holly, has smooth, shiny leaves with a single tip spine and is famously self-fruitful, setting heavy red berries with no male plant required. Dwarf forms make dense foundation shrubs.

The straight species and some cultivars are viciously spined — useful for barrier hedges — while others are almost smooth-leaved.

Quick tip: Burford and Dwarf Burford set berries on their own, which makes them the easiest hollies to fruit in a small garden.

Growing Chinese holly

Give it full sun to part shade and well-drained soil; it is hardy in USDA zones 7 to 9 and shrugs off heat and drought once established. Prune in late winter to shape.

Popular chinese holly

The 7 hollies below are among the most widely grown and dependable in this group. Each profile covers foliage, sex and pollination, berries, size, hardiness, and how to grow it well.