Identifying Holly Bushes

Question

I have recently purchased a house with at least ten holly bushes in the landscape. To me they look like they need to be trimmed, but I just read your advice on trimming and see I need to know what type of holly it is. I have no idea what kind they are. Is there a way to identify them without having a degree in horticulture?

Answer 1

There are hundreds of holly types – I am sending a link in the event yours looks like any of these. If not, I would cut a piece of it and take to a good local nursery and ask. I don’t think you can hurt them, however, by trimming conservatively. You can control the shape and size and I find them to be tough to damage. I do not recommend just hacking them with a hedge-trimmer. Just use a good hand shears and cut off branches that are “out of line.”