One of the most common questions I get about its season is the landscape color of plants that aren’t annuals, like pansies, violets, and carnations.
A few weeks ago I mentioned one such plant – winter cassia – which adds winter color to landscapes. Now I would like to propose a southeastern native shrub that is attractive and has a surprising use.
Yaupon holly is botanically known as Ilex vomitoria. In late fall and early winter, the colorful berries of this shrub/small tree seem to appear at the edges of wild, wooded areas along roads and highways around Mississippi.
Like all holly, Yaupon holly has male and female plants. It is the female plants that display the distinctive berries that differ from the other red berry shrubs. These berries are bright, glossy, and candy-colored red. I love their sheer look that makes them resemble red pearls.
But not all Yaupon holly plants produce red berries.
In the Stone County, Mississippi area, genetics for rare, yellow-berry Yaupon plants exist in the wild. I found one of these plants in a natural area and am trying to root some cuttings so I can have one in my native landscape.
Yaupon holly typically grows into a small tree reaching up to 20 feet tall when left alone. Many of the bushy Yaupon holly trees we see along the roads were cut back during bush cleaning maintenance work. So a purely native selection might be a bit too big if you don’t want to crop a bit.
But there’s good news with a few other choices.
There is a really attractive weeping selection that grows to around 12 feet tall and has branches that arch with a downward habit. It is adorned with the pearly red berries.
Another is a dwarf selection that could make a great addition to a more traditional base planting. Well, with all landscape plants, the term dwarf is relative. Schilling’s Dwarf is slow growing but will grow up to 5 feet tall. A surprising fact is that this selection is sterile and produces none of the beautiful berries.
Drinking Yaupon holly tea is very curious, and artisan producers offer different varieties and flavors of this drink. The tea is made from the naturally caffeinated leaves of Yaupon holly, the only naturally caffeinated species of plant that grows in most of North America.
For thousands of years, indigenous people in the Southeast drank an infusion of yaupon leaves and water for energy, medicinal, and ceremonial purposes. Now back to its botanical name: the tea is rumored to induce vomiting during purification rituals.
Yaupon holly is an amazing plant and perfect for our winter landscape as the berries turn bright red at just the right time of year. Try making wreaths and garlands with Yaupon holly sprigs to decorate with this holiday season.
