Generally the species English Holly has a tree form, albeit smaller then American Holly. It tends to be a bit less cold hardy then American Holly or the Blue/Meserve hollies, and struggles in my area...but I'm north of you.

Some cultivars of English holly demonstrate reduced growth rate in climates they don't particularly like, even if they are able to withstand them overall. Some (but not all) of the English holly cultivars at McLean Nurseries in Baltimore, for example, are shockingly small for their age. Presumably there is both a degree of periodic winter dieback and an overall lack of vigor...but they look perfectly fine...just small. Owner Mr. Kuhl thinks most "east coast hardy" aquifoliums are actually Highclere hollies (NOT native American Ilex opaca hybrids as some have implied here, the bloom times preclude that*) and thus have hybrid vigor. Which ends up making them hardier even though that is counter-intuitive given that one of the Highclere parents is a tender-ish species. Highclere 'Golden King' for example, might be more vigorous than whatever clone of 'argentea marginata' etc. Lowes is offering...no doubt produced by a PNW wholesaler for national distribution. Mr. Kuhl sells 'Golden King' periodically and doesn't offer hollies he doesn't consider hardy in B'more and environs, including zn 6b. (he doesn't sell I. vomitoria for example) My memory is vague and his collection is kind of jumbled up and cramped some degree - plants shading other plants out, etc, not ideal conditions - but I'm pretty sure his 'Golden King' mother plant looks better than his standard variegated English.

In any case the typical variegated one...my guess in east TN it would eventually get tree sized _except_ for winters like 78, 85, perhaps 94, which could kill some or all of the tops. Eventually meaning in the same way a purple beech will one day be stately: for your grandkids, when they retire LOL. No holly is particularly fast in forming a tree.

There are other cultivars of variegated holly that are hardier and/or more vigorous in a hot humid climate but they won't have the exact same look. One very showy one is Ilex cornuta 'O Spring'. It might not get big enough for you. Perhaps 'Sunny Foster' is better in that case. Also, 'Hefcup' but it needs full sun to show variegation: my potted plant already lost its variegation from just a few months ago! Because I of course have the pot in shade.

So long story short! Try 'Sunny Foster' if you like the look of it, and 'Golden King' if you can find it.

* such hybrids have been created by freezing pollen or whatnot but they look nothing like Highclere hollies. The American dominates and they look like a slightly glossier American holly. The only notable looking American X European/west Asian hybrid holly is the I. fosteri X I. aquifolium at Rutgers.

Camellia Forest has 'Sunny Foster' this year.

I think we have another case of an MIA OP LOL.

Oh wait...I see I was thanked. Well, hopefully you are still reading if you are looking for that plant.

It might be a bit hard to locate, but 'Whoa Nellie' is a female 'gold suffused' form of Nellie Stevens (not exactly variegated). It should be fairly hardy (zone 6) and eventually grow large, but may not be quite as vigorous as its green counterpart. But it should be a show-stopper if it can be pollinated by a nearby male.

'Whoa Nellie' is certainly a show-stopper. I will definitely have to consider hunting it down.

There seems to be some kind of holly around here that many people have in their yards that makes a small tree and has very smooth dark bark and darker leaves than the Ilex opaca which grows everywhere here. I haven't had an opportunity to get close to said tree. Any guesses as to what it could be?

Camellia Forest (very good Garden Watchdog rating) has 'Whoa Nellie'.

I have a variegated holly that produces berries and grows like a tree.

I think it's a variety of I. aquifolium. I started it from a cutting a long time ago.

This picture was taken in May of 2013, looking east.

Mike

Kyle, you will have to get a photo of this mystery tree. Could be Carolina cherry laurel but that's wild speculation.

Something like that is exactly what I had in mind, Mike. About how long did it take it to get that big?

Dave, I will try my best to get one sometime this week. For all I know, it could just be the native that people set out in their yard, and the full sun may make it look a little different than the usual filtered shade they get in the wild.

Another holly to look for is Ilex x 'Solar Flare'. This was a discovered variegated sport of an 'Oakland' cultivar, but is not quite a vigorous. It should be hardy though. My related 'Oakleaf's are super hardy. I've never seen damage.

About 25 years Kyle. I started it as a cutting and it grew slow for the first few years. It's all that's left of a batch of about 50. The rest were traded or sold. I wish I had kept more. It has red berries by Christmas.

Mike

Hey guys, I got a picture of a holly at a local fast food joint today that I really like, but I don't know what kind it is. I'm hoping you all can help.

Kyle, have you toured the Elmore Holly Collection at the UT Arboretum? If not, you NEED to!

Sadly, I haven't, but I have heard about it. Hopefully I'll make it out there after Christmas.

Kyle, your latest photos of the 'mystery' holly is most likely an Ilex x attenuata hybrid called 'Foster's #2'. It is an Ilex cassine crossed with American holly (Ilex opaca). That one is a very large and old specimen.

Yep. Very nice Foster holly.

I would love to see that holly collection...hope it's better taken care of than the one at Rutgers. In fact I was really wanting to drive out there when I thought they had a 'Apricot Glow' cultivar of Ilex aquifolium I've been trying to track down. Yes...an orange-berried English holly...and, yes I would have just taken a cutting or two. But then I stumbled upon a picture of their plant on the Holly Soc. website and it doesn't look right. (the English cultivar 'Amber' is probably better, but was never imported)

Any of the PNW nurseries that used to carry a wide array of rare English Holly cultivars either don't anymore, or are gone. It's become an outlaw plant there because it's invasive. I contacted the commercial holly grower's association and the guy said he didn't know anyone growing the orange-berried form...not very Christmas-y I guess LOL. Forestfarm still has some of the more standard stuff but they never had the variety that say, Mike Lee at Colvos used to. At this point I'm lucky enough that Mclean had the yellow berried one, which is nice too. Mr. Kuhl custom propagated some for me last year.

This one might need a pollinator.

Actually in fairness to Forestfarm they have a pretty good selection of Ilex aquifoliums recently. Maybe they have realized they are the last nursery anywhere selling them.

"I would love to see (the Elmore Holly Collection at the UT Arboretum)...hope it's better taken care of than the one at Rutgers."

It's not kept up nearly as well as it should be, but it's still decent. I used to work pretty hard there at least a couple of days per year helping to keep it in good shape, but for various reasons have not done so in a couple of years now.

Last time I went, I saw a few specimens that were completely dead but still left in place. Lots of weeding, pruning, and mulching could help improve things. Most of the maintenance (except for mowing) is done by a few volunteers.

It's still definitely worth a visit if you're into hollies. The collection has roughly 225 specimens, with at least a couple of dozen species represented.

For what it's worth, Sunny Foster really needs a LOT of sun to color up. Mine has been a disappointment. And it gets quite a bit of sun, but less in Winter. Maybe it still needs to get older and more mature? Not sure.

A couple more obscure variegated American hollies to hunt down include:

Ilex opaca 'Christmas Snow'

Ilex opaca 'Stewart's Silver Crown'

Ilex opaca 'Lin's Gold'

But you'll really have to hunt for these! You may even need to join up with the Holly Society of America to network. Also, keep in mind most variegated hollies are much slower growing than the all-green ones due to diminished photosynthesis in leaves.

I just received my Ilex x 'Solar Flare' from a mail order company. Can't wait to get this baby in the ground!

Dave in Nova, good luck trying to find any of those Opacas. I have a hard time finding opacas period. The guy at Holly Ridge doesn't return my phone calls and Rarefind nursery and Forest Farm are limited in what they carry, besides they buy their stock from Holly Ridge anyways. I would love to have a Christmas snow. Plain and simple, there are not enough suppliers.

Treebird: it seems a lot of the knowledgeable holly people and growers are few and far between. And few offer plants online. Many don't even have an inventory online to view.

You can always drive to beautiful Baltimore, MD (Towson, really) to visit McLean Nurseries. I bet they either offer one of those cultivars or could make some for you. (probably too late this year, so you wouldn't get the plants until fall 2017...although with winter being so mild, who knows)

Well Dave, that doesn't seem to help the average person in search of opacas. I enjoy American hollies just as much as the best of them. I'm from the east coast where hollies were regularly planted and grew native. They're one of my favorite trees back home. Now I live in the midwest and its taken me 2 years to obtain just 5 cultivars. I'm still trying to find Christmas snow and Red Flush. I bought every holly book I could find in hopes of finding better information than online. Plain and simple there needs to be better access to these cultivars especially in a world of technology like today. If only a select few people and a few arboretums are growing them, then there's no surprise to me that you can't obtain them unless your a part of some club. But the fact is most people aren't a part of that club. So ultimately these clones will stay with these people until they are gone and eventually the average consumer will have nothing to choose from but the Chinese blue hollies at Walmart. Not the fault of the consumer but the people keeping their treasures all to themselves. I do landscaping and graft fruit and nut trees. I know how good cultivars become lost and also how they become widespread.

Yes treebird, it is so frustrating! I suppose there is just not the demand. I mean the volume of demand. Most people are content with big box store plants.

Also, the variegated ones just don't grow fast enough to warrant propagation in our less than robust economy. If you call Bill Kuhl at McLean Nursery in Baltimore, he might have some other names you could call if you can give him specific varieties that you are searching out. I talked to him last week and they have all their hollies tucked away for winter, so you might have to wait until spring to call (in April) after they pull them out. He doesn't seem to know what he all has off the top of his head!

Did you have some particular cultivars in mind?

I am looking for Christmas Snow, Red Flush and Volunteer Orange.

" I'm from the east coast where hollies were regularly planted and grew native."

Unfortunately, not that regularly. At least not anymore.

They are pretty commonly planted here in the DC area. Nellie Stevens and Fosters are king and I'm seeing more Mary Nell being planted in developments. As for American hollies, I'm seeing what appears to be Satyr Hill being planted. This is all good. Also, the blue hollies and Japanese hollies are sold in big box stores.

Mcclean Nurseries doesn't do mail order. I would like to have a Satyr Hill. It's reported to be hardy in zone 5. I'm planting these hollies at the very northern line of Missouri.

http://www.hollyridgenurseryohio.com/catalog/

stewarts silver crown....

Dave, Holly Ridge Nursery doesn't return phone calls.

I would try in early Spring. Many specialty nurseries shut down during holidays and some even in winter when shipping is more dangerous. Have you tried their email? I would email them with your wish list and they might be able to hook you up with someone. Networking is likely necessary.

I purchased a Dan Fenton Holly from Holly Ridge last month.

Sam, that's a gorgeous Ilex aquifolium 'Argentea Marginata' you've got there. Nice berries as well! I have several of these in my yard. They grow slowly. But are among the best of the variegated hollies for our region. They are easily sheared although they don't need much shearing as a rule.

Dave that is gorgeous! I was really, really tempted by a variegated green and creamy white one at an end of the year season sale but decided enough with the hollies. I already grow Nellie Stevens, Japanese, Inkberry, Blue Princess and Prince so I got an evergreen Viburnum and Osmanthus heterophyllus goshiki (which your last pic reminds me of greatly.) I used to grow Chinese Holly, one that I had purchased as a decorative indoor plant for X-mas but that one that I had was extremely prickly (enough to penetrate my gloves). Although I believe Nellie Stevens is a hybrid with Chinese Holly (only MUCH less prickly!).

Question, I really don't have a thing for variegated plants generally speaking (with exceptions), but are generally less vigorous than all green ones?

Yes, variegated versions of most plants are usually slower growing in part because they have less Chlorophyll. There are variegated versions of ilex opaca for instance, but they tend to be particularly slow growing. Variegated English Holly does better. Male holly grow fraster, so you can also us a variegated male and regular female if you want the pair to stay closer in size

What is a proper sized Ilex opaca tree to start with? I would like a tree over 6ft in 3-4 years. I found a place with rooted clones for cheap, but I found this on the forest service write-up "Initial growth is slow, averaging about 1.8 in (6 ft) in 16 years under medium shade (32). " I don't want to have to hide tiny trees behind tall grass and flowers for 16 years, would a 4ft tree grow a couple feet in 3 years?

Looking for my weedy vine pictures, I found this picture of the 'Hefcup' at McLean Nurseries. It also needs full sun to color well.

Skip, yes I find pure I. opacas pretty slow when starting out.

The good news is that, because native plants are seen as ecologically correct, you should have no trouble finding larger American hollies at various NJ nurseries. (Albeit not places like Lowes & HD.) I would first try Tripleoaks, then Rarefind. There are probably a couple other nurseries that focus on native plants. The excellent herb nursery in NNJ called Well-Sweep Herb Farm might have them, or know a place to get them. Seedlings aren't bad per se, assuming you know their sex, but I'd recommend a named selection.

BTW, be aware the cutting grown hollies might need somewhat aggressive shaping to ensure they form a single leader, and don't form ugly multitrunked specimens 20 years down the road.