Deck the Halls With Native Holly

Yaupon hollyPlants from the holly family are often used “to deck our halls” during the holiday season.  The boughs are cuttings from any evergreen tree or shrub of the Ilex genus. Most hollies are evergreen making them a desirable landscape plant for winter because they add color and life in the dead of winter.

There are well over 400 species of hollies. Less than one hundred are native to North Carolina, however, and less than twenty are native to the N.C. coast. Their shiny green leaves are stiff, most are pointed and spine-tipped. The fruit varies in color -- white, orange, or yellow -- with the most common red. The berries can often remain on the plant until spring. The flowers are greenish-white and not all that showy.

Here’s a partial list of coastal natives:

• Ilex cassine, or dahoon,  grows up to 30 high feet in the wild. Foliage lacks the prominent spines or teeth like the American holly. Fruit sets in fall and winter. It is a worthwhile but underused plant.
• Ilex glabra, or inkberry, grows up to 8 feet tall. It’s an important nectar source for honeybees.
• Ilex myrtfolia, or myrtle dahoon, grows up to 20 feet high. It’s closely related to dahoon, bur its leaves are much more narrow and linear. Berries mature in the autumn. This is an attractive and unique holly that deserves a wider use in the landscape.
• Ilex opaca, or American holly, grows up to 50 feet high with a distinct pyramidal or conical habit. Mature trees have a very attractive bark.
• Ilex verticillata, or common winterberry, should mature at between 6-10 feet in height.
• Ilex vomitoria, or yaupon holly, is a versatile evergreen that tolerates wet or normal soils, sun or shade. Overall one of the most valued landscape hollies.

American hollyThe Ilex is rich in history, and the foliage, fruit and wood have many unique uses. One quaint custom is to place sprigs of holly on bee hives in December, wishing even the bees a merry Christmas. Holly has medicinal uses as well. The leaves of yaupon were roasted and added to water to make a black brew drunk to cleanse the body before ceremonies. The berries were preserved to use as clothing and hair ornamentation. You can find the wood of holly used to make chess boards or even a piano.

The fruits are eaten by birds and mammals. When planted to form dense stands, it offers additional value for year-round shelter for animals.

Plant a native holly to deck your halls, your landscape or for wildlife. Enjoy and have a holly, jolly holiday.

Fall Plant Sale Helps Birds

We’re having our second Fall Native Plant Sale, Oct. 17-21, at the federation headquarters in Ocean, which is about 10 miles west of Morehead City on N.C. 24. Come by between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. each day and browse through our selection of native trees, shrubs and wildflowers.

It’s the time of year for planting, and the birds will thank you. Many of the plants we have for sale will attract birds because they offer them something to eat or provide shelter. Here’s a partial list:

TREES

Red mulberry (Morus rubra): Spring fruit bonanza, dying leaves in fall host leaf-rollers, which attract insect-eating birds.

Common hackberry (Celtis occidentalis): Fall berries and dying leaves draw insects, which attract birds.

Water tupelo/black gum (Nyssa sylvatica): Fall fruit. Woodpeckers and nuthatches love the bark, and insect-eating birds love the bugs on the foliage. Downy woodpeckers, chickadees, titmice and white-breasted nuthatch like it as a nesting tree.

Black cherry (Prunus serotina): The cherries attract fruit eaters, while the flowers attract insects and their predators.

Wax myrtle (Myrica cerifera): Produces fall and winter berries. Brush-loving birds like this evergreen for the year-round shelter/ it affords.

Live oak (Quercus virginiana): Great cover for nesting and roosting. It also attracts insect-eating birds. Acorns are highly prized by wildlife.

Sweet gum (Liquidambar styraciflua): Gumballs attract finches and other birds. Foliage provides good foraging habitat for insectivores.

Tulip tree/tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera): Spring flowers provide nectar for orioles and attract insects, which, in turn, attract insectivores.

American hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana): Provides good cover and its fruit is prized by birds and animals.

Red buckeye (Aesulus pavia): The red tube-shaped flowers bloom in early spring, when hummingbirds are returning and passing through.

SHRUBS

Inkberry (Ilex glabra): Fruit appears just in time for fall migration.

Common winterberry (Ilex venticillata): This is possibly the best shrub you can plant for birds. Fruit begins ripening late in fall and lasts well into the winter.

Southern arrow wood (Viburnum dentatum): The flower clusters appear in late spring, then blue-black fruit in fall. The fruit is eaten by 50-plus bird species.

Possumhaw (Viburnum nudum):  Birds love berries in fall.

Common buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis): Seeds are prized by ducks, quail, turkeys, doves, cardinals and other birds. Provide good nest cover for a variety of birds.

American black elderberry (Sambucus canadensis): Fruit favored by many birds. Good cover plant.

Red chokeberry (Aronia arbutifolia): Fall and winter berries.

VINES

Trumpet honeysuckle (Lonicera semperviren): Highly prized by hummingbirds, orioles and others. The vine tangles provide good cover.

Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefoli): Berries eaten by some warblers, vireos, catbirds and many other fruit eaters.

Trumpet creeper (Campsis radicans): Very attractive to hummingbirds.

Crossvine (Bignonia capreolata): Very attractive to hummingbirds.

WILDFLOWERS

Swamp rose mallow (Hibiscus moscheutos): The flowers attract hummingbirds, and the seeds eaten by many birds.

Aster species: The flowers attract butterflies and moths, which attract many birds, including migrating flycatchers. Seeds favored by sparrows and finches.

Scarlet bee balm (Monarda didyma) and salvia: Very attractive to hummingbirds.

Weeds: Let them grow in a corner or edge of your yard or field. Their flowers benefit hummingbirds and butterflies and their seeds feed small birds.

River Birch (Betula nigra)

"When we plant a tree, we are doing what we can to make our planet a more wholesome and happier dwelling-place for those who come after us if not for ourselves."

-- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

Now during the dog days of summer everyone is looking for shade in their landscape. If that is your situation, plant a river birch – or two.

Betula is a beautiful rapid grower with very symmetrical branching. The shaggy bark is colorful year round with flakes of brown, salmon, peach, orange and even lavender.  Although it may drop some leaves during droughts, the tree is resistant to heat and wind, real assets in our climate.

In its natural setting, river birch grows along streams, rivers and ponds and thrives in moist soils. But it can adapt to drier areas as well – making it ideal for the home landscape. Add to its adaptability the fact that grass grows readily under the tree. That makes the river birch a very popular lawn tree. It’s also relatively free of insects. Planting too close to driveways and patios, however, will mean hours of raking since this deciduous tree drops its leaves in autumn.  If you suffer from seasonal allergies, you may want to avoid Birch is an abundant pollen producer so it may not be the one for you.

The river birch has somewhat unusual summer growth habits. When other trees have stopped growing, the river birch just keeps on going. Mature trees can grow 50 to 70 feet high.  

Think too of wildlife and birds when considering the river birch. Numerous cavity nesting birds such as woodpeckers, chickadees, nuthatches and swallows nest there. It is a favorite feeding tree of yellow-bellied sapsuckers, which peck holes in the bark to feed on the sap. Hummingbirds then feed in the sap wells that the sapsuckers create.

Scarlet Rose Mallow (Hibiscus coccineus)

This eye-catching shrubby perennial has finger-like lobed scarlet red flowers. It is the largest of North America’s native flowers and may be one of the most beautiful.  Hibiscus coccineus goes by many common names --Texas star, red swamp mallow, scarlet rose mallow and red hibiscus to name a few, but  the kids will love calling it this one - marsh mallow.

It needs hot, humid summers to bloom profusely. The foliage can reach heights of 4 – 6 feet and the flowers 5 to 6 inches. Like the chaste tree, the leaves may cause people to do a double take because they resemble marijuana. The resemblance quickly ends when the plant bursts forth with its humongous flowers in late summer.

native of Southeast swamps, the scarlet rose mallow It thrives in moist, wet soil - even tolerating standing water.  The wetter the site, the taller it grows. Because of its rapid growth, it requires fertilizer in early summer and may need staking at first growth.  As a warning , deadhead blooming scarlet rose mallow before it gets the chance to set seeds. Otherwise, you'll be overrun with these plants next year.

Its flowers will attract bees,  butterflies and birds, including hummingbirds. The flowers will stop blooming in the winter, and the leaves will turn, but you will have your beautiful flowers back again in the spring.

Even if you are a beginning gardener, the hibiscus coccineus is easy to grow because it is so hardy, plus it will need very little except for water and a lot of sunshine.

Seven Sisters (Crinum americanum)

If you have a bog or water garden this is the plant for you.  The leaves of seven sisters grow in small clumps in wet soil, and the plant is not at all fussy about sunlight. The fragrant white flowers with red stamens resemble a star with six narrow petals. The flowers are sometimes tinged with pink.  This plant can be used to stabilize soil.

Crinum americanum can be grown in a perennial bed, a tropical garden or near a wer feature. It also makes an imposing specimen plant. It can even be grown as a houseplant in a large container in a bright room. It prefers a cool nighttime temperature -- about 55 degrees.

The plant is found in wetlands and marshes from North Carolina to Texas.

WARNING: All parts of seven sister are poisonous and can cause stomach irritation if eaten. The sap can cause skin irritation.