Toronado it sure put a smile on my face!! Most of the largest plants in the area are half this size at best and are very narrow and upright compared to this one. jq public I would have to guess since they are so slow growing the wood is very sturdy and able to support the load. And/Or also maybe as in this picture the leaves/branches are resistant to snow accumulation and the snow will not stick? I have not seen any winter damage/broken branches on the specimens here. I really love big hollies there are some huge Nelly R Stevens at Cheekwood in Nashville but there is just something about a nice big tree like this this far north!

Looking for a northern source of seed of Ilex Opaca or American Holly. I have native seed to trade

Well it is about time! American Holly is a native down here on the south coast, with huge tree sized specimen's growing in the woods near my house and some spectacular 40 footers in yards. They pop up like weeds on my property, but I have never had much luck transplanting. And I almost never see them in the local nurseries. This has never made sense to me. They sell many other holly cultivars locally, some not so well suited to our winter climate (like English Holly) but they pass over the hardier native. I know Sylvan nursery in Westport MA has had them in the past, but only super large sizes that cost mega bucks and require a large truck to move.

American Holly can actually grow in a lot colder zones than people realize. I have several small ones I am growing here in Iowa zone 5 with no problem. On really cold winters it gets down to -30 to -35. Of course those are the extremes, the average hits -15 to -20. I originally moved here from PA and they were very common out there. One of the most beautiful trees in the winter. Ilex Opaca is very hard to find in the nursery trade. You can check out Forrest Farm or Holly Ridge Nursery. There is a Nursery in Butler, PA called Orlando Pride Nursery where they bred several cultivars to take heavy snow loads and put up with the extreme cold.