A couple of years ago I stumbled across a website that had an informative article on how to grow holly from cuttings. I was fascinated by the concept and soon found myself devoting many evenings to this particular hobby. I wanted to know how to grow holly from cuttings, too, but I wasn’t sure where to begin. The good thing is, there are many different ways to grow the wonderful berries. It just required a bit of research. I’m going to tell you what I did and hopefully it will help you to learn how to grow holly from cuttings too.
To begin, I chose three different varieties: English, Maidenhair, and White Shrub. I started by placing the cuttings into a shallow dish of water. I left them for two weeks, shaking the soil every few days and trying to get as much light as possible. It’s important to remember that the cuttings were in the bottom of the container. You want to ensure that they receive plenty of sunlight during the time they’re receiving it, even if it’s not much.
After two weeks, I moved the cuttings to a larger dish. This time I placed them on top of some gravel and spread some bone meal over them. Bone meal is a great fertilizer. It’s rich in calcium, manganese, and vitamin C, and it will help your holly cuttings to grow strong roots. Then, just add a little bit of rooting compound per 4-inch thick layer.
Just a couple of days later I transferred the cuttings to a larger container with artificial light. This time I let them stay there for three weeks. I moved them to a bigger dish with good growing medium and spread some more rooting hormone over them. My results were excellent, actually.
Now that I’ve gotten some experience with how to grow holly, I’m itching to try different varieties. So, you might have seen me digging up the remains of another plant in the garden, taking some of its berries home. The plant was an evergreen hedge type called Salvia species. Bitter melon and cucumber are other common winter crop varieties.
Some people like to experiment with how to grow holly by selectively picking the best growing berries at the top. This isn’t recommended for all circumstances, but some people do it. The best time to harvest the berries, then, is either early in the morning when the sun is shining just before you have to go to work or late in the evening, when the sun is no longer high.
The best soil to grow holly bushes in is well rotted garden soil. This soil has gone through a long life, which is why it’s in great shape. If your soil doesn’t have this, don’t despair. Just buy some potting soil or compost. Don’t use store-bought potting soil. My mother used to make a wonderful compost using kitchen scraps including paper products, cardboard, fruit peelings, etc.
In order for your holly plant to grow healthy, you’ll need to mulch it. This will help keep the roots warm. If you want new growth, I suggest repotting once a year. Some people just let their plants go until they die off, but this is a mistake. Repot every two years.
When you get ready to repot, remove the old cutting from the main trunk and divide the plant in half. Place one half into a plastic bag with some rooting hormone and water. Put the other half into an empty plastic bag. Leave them alone for about a month. While they’re in there, try to get the plant to grow the whole length of the bag, keeping the cutting in each piece. You can add as much or as little of the rooting hormone as you need to achieve the results you want.
When your young cuttings are about half-way through turning color, you can remove the plant and gently shake them back and forth. This will encourage new growth and hasten the turn around time on your shrubs. When you repot, don’t remove the root ball entirely, but if you do, be sure to add about 2 inches of new growth to the area. Your shrubs will enjoy the extra nectar and eventually flower all the way up to the top, enjoying the new height that you provided for them.
Some people prefer to grow holly bushes in containers because it’s easier to control the soil and the care they require. Containers usually come with lightweight plastic top sheets that provide good drainage. If you don’t have these, make sure you buy some light fabric, like a shower curtain, to cover the bottom of your container. Grow the plants inside the tent and remove the plastic after the initial planting period. Water the plants only when the top moisture of the soil goes down below 50%. Grow holly bushes from cuttings because they’re easy and inexpensive to grow and maintain.
