DATE:       12/04/97
WRITER:     Bob Polomski, (864) 656-2604

Determining the Sex of Hollies

     Q:  Can you tell me how I can determine the sex of a holly
plant?  I purchased one several years ago and was told that it
was a female. I'd like to buy it a mate, but I want to make sure
that I purchase the right one.
     A:  Distinguishing between male and female holly (Ilex
species) plants is pretty straightforward once the plants begin
to flower next spring. In the case of seed-propagated hollies,
flowering generally occurs after 5 to 8 years. 
      Male plants produce profuse numbers of whitish flowers,
each with four prominent stamens that stick up between the
petals. When the anthers ripen and split open, you can see the
sticky yellow pollen.
     Female hollies, by contrast, produce fewer blooms and each
bloom has in its center a green, pealike pistil, which will
develop into the berry, surrounded by four poorly developed,
nonfunctional stamens.
     Because hollies are insect-pollinated, it's possible to get 
fruit from a pair spaced as far apart as an eighth of a mile. 
But you will improve your berry set by locating the two sexes
closer together. If this is not possible, you can place flowering 
male branches in a container of water and set them at the foot of
a female plant.     
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     If you have gardening questions or comments, write to
Agricultural News and Publications, A-101 Poole Agricultural
Center, Box 340311, Clemson University, Clemson, S. C. 
29634-0311.
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