If you find that you are missing out on some of these types of plant, start a list to add to your landscape for next spring. I am doing this since I don’t have very many plants at all in my landscape.
One of my favorite plants for holiday decorating is Ilex verticillata or deciduous holly. While this isn’t a brand new plant, you still don’t see a lot of it in our landscapes.
Unlike evergreen hollies, the winterberry holly loses its leaves in the winter, revealing the most spectacular red or orangish-red berries. The stems are quite sturdy and the berries last throughout the holiday season.
Like the evergreen hollies, you have to plant at least one male plant with the female plants in order for the females to produce berries. The male has to be somewhere in the landscape in order to pollinate the female.
The plant is not especially showy during the spring and summer, but the berries are incredible. The plants are upright, multistemmed shrubs and can grow from 12-15 feet down to around 3-4 feet tall, depending upon the cultivar.
Look for ‘Red Sprite’ with its dwarf habit (3-4 feet tall) and brilliant red berries. ‘Jim Dandy’ is the best male to pollinate ‘Red Sprite.’
There is also another female cultivar, ‘Winter Red,’ that grows up to 8 feet tall with bright red fruit.
Evergreen hollies are nice for indoor decorations; however, they don’t last long once inside since they are a broadleaf plant. Plan on keeping them in the house no longer than a week to 10 days. They are also somewhat difficult to grow in the landscape.
Boxwood makes attractive decorations and can be arranged into a centerpiece, placed in clusters on the mantel, or designed into a wreath.
However, not everyone likes the smell of boxwood. Make sure you check this out first before bringing a lot of it inside.
Spruce or juniper may be a bit sticky to the touch but make beautiful, long lasting decorations. Again, some people don’t like the smell of juniper.
I like juniper because you can pick among the different color variations in these plants, ranging from green to yellowish, to bluish. The blue colors are even better when the berries are present.
If you are going to use pine for decorations, be careful where you make your cuts. If you cut off the growing tip of pines, they will not sprout next season and there will be no more growth on that branch.
Therefore, if you want to use pine sprigs from your yard, select branches that can be cut so that they won’t affect the appearance of the plant. In other words, take from the back of the plant and cut sparingly or limb up the tree by removing a lower limb entirely and using the branches.
The most important tip for decorating with evergreens is to vary the shades of green and the textures. You can’t go wrong.
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