Ilex aquifolium 'SILVER MILKBOY' English holly - male

Silver Milkboy is a male English holly with very attractive, glossy, evergreen foliage. The leaves are creamy beige or light yellow in the centre, and deep green along the wavy, spiny margins. Flowering is irregular and shy. In the years when it does flower it makes a good portion of scarlet red berries in autumn. As a male plant it works as a pollinator of female varieties, mostly of aquifolium group or its hybrids.

Silver Milkboy holly has greenish-yellow branches and forms an upright, dense, pyramidal-shaped shrub. It grows moderately fast and is often pruned to achieve denser habit and compact shape. Spring pruning, after the danger of all frosts, will encourage new growths, while midsummer shearing is ideal for shaping. If you grow it as a pollinator make sure you prune it after the flowers have faded out.

Grow hollies in acid, moist but well-drained, humus-rich soil. They like full sun or half shade, but can also live in full shade where they may lose its shape. Cultivars with coloured leaves prefer partial shade in winter. Hollies have shallow, spreading roots so the planting hole should be wide, not deep. Provide extra watering in frost-free periods in winter to prevent its roots from drying out before the ground gets frozen. Hardy to about -25°C (USDA zone 6) and withstands shorts spells of slightly lower temperatures.

Last update 23-11-2012