Propagate This Festive Tree In December For Years Of Evergreen Beauty

Looking for new trees to fill a bare space in your backyard during the cooler months? Spring and summer aren't the only time you can work on growing new plants for your garden. In fact, winter is the ideal season for propagation. In particular, it's the time of year when you take hardwood cuttings from evergreen and deciduous trees and shrubs. You're often pruning plants around this time anyway. Why not make a few new shrubs with those branches and get a head start on the next growing season? American holly (Ilex opaca), for example, is a fantastically festive tree that you should be propagating in December.

This hardwood perennial tree, which thrives in USDA Hardiness Zones 5 to 9, is renowned for its pretty red berries surrounded by deep green, glossy leaves. You can't get more Christmassy than that! Unlike fast-spreading, invasive privacy plants to avoid, American holly is a slow grower. Only after its first four to seven years in the ground will the tree start to flower. The blooms and, later, the berries provide year-round interest to a garden that will last a lifetime — quite literally. Cared for correctly, these festive trees can live a century or more. Note that American holly is a tree that will outgrow a small yard. With good care and the right environment, it can reach up to 20 feet wide and 60 feet tall. Plan its placement carefully.

Propagation from cuttings is the most reliable way to start new American holly plants. And winter is the best time to do it. You can start taking cuttings anytime after the new wood hardens in July, right through December. Identify the stems with new (first-year) growth and take 4- to 6-inch long terminal cuttings — a cut that includes a terminal bud. Remove the leaves, retaining a few at the top. Carefully strip about an inch of bark from the bottom of the cutting. Then dip the stripped end in a rooting hormone that contains 1% to 2% indolebutyric acid (IBA). Alternatively, you can give them a boost with hydrogen peroxide. Place the cutting in a soilless, fertilizer-free growing medium and allow at least four to six weeks for roots to develop.

You can also choose to propagate your American holly cuttings directly in the ground. However, you need to take precautions if you live in an area that gets frosts. In most places, it's easier to propagate American holly in a container and transplant the cutting into the garden the following spring. Once the rooted stems are in the ground, it is easy to successfully grow and care for holly bushes. The most important thing you can do is provide adequate water and protection from harsh weather during the first 12 months of the new tree's life. This will help it establish a sturdy root system. Make sure the cutting receives about 1 inch of water per week across all sources, including rainfall and irrigation. You can fertilize American holly in the spring, but it isn't necessary.