Depends. Are sky pencils male or female? Also, if female, they would need to be pollinated by a male Ilex crenata blooming at the same time.

EDIT: OK, according to Missouri Botanical Garden site, they are all female. So pollination is determined by presence of a male blooming at the same time. Crenatas tend to bloom later in the season than most other hollies, so they should escape any late frosts!

BTW, Ilex crenata has small black berries. Not particularly showy.

really?? a year ...

when i planted oaks.. it took ten years for the first acorn appeared ..

your H will berry.. when the plant is completely established.. and considers itself mature ... and i would suggest.. one year is not it ... it might not even be over transplant shock yet ..

and of course.. the problem is.. first the root mass matures.. then the plant above..... and we cant really tell whats going on underground ..

plants really dont live in our instant gratification world ... they kinda march to their own drummer ... be patient young jedi warrior .. wait.. that was be patient grasshopper ...

ken

close enough.. lol

https://www.google.com/search?q=be+patient+grasshopper+...&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

As Ken's post is a little confusing, let's try to clarify :-) Hollies come in both male and female varieties and in order for the female plants to produce berries (they are the only ones that do) a male has to be present. 'Sky Pencil' is a female form of Japanese holly so in order to produce any berries you will need to include a male Japanese holly cultivar in your garden. However, I wouldn't rush out to purchase one - it will not look like the Sky Pencil in form or habit, few cultivars are labeled as males and the berries produced by any Japanese holly are very nondescript and not noticeable, as Dave noted.

In short, this is not a plant that is grown for its colorful berry production like many other hollies are.

Thanks Dave and ken. I looked up the Sky Pencil holly and sure enough it is only female and needs a male to bear fruit. I am looking for a male Stokes dwarf holly, but local nurseries don't seem to have it or don't know the sex. I can live without berries but they would add to the front of our house during the holidays. These were several years old when I got them from the nursery (5 and 7 gallon size). I saw that no dwarf hollies have berries. If they are going to be small and black, that won't be the holiday look I want anyway.

My bushes are a year older and doing well. I can live without the black berries.

I have two sky pencil hollies that I bought in the spring of 2022. I never got them planted and now one has small black berries and the other does not. I want to hold them until next spring. How is the best way to overwinter them while still in pots? Can the berries be planted for new bushes?

See here:

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/6318640/overwintering-potted-trees-in-a-garage#n=22