Winter is a time when holly shrubs shine. Many produce vibrant berries, making the local wildlife foraging through winter very happy indeed. It’s still a great time to plant trees and shrubs in San Antonio, so today we are highlighting a few varieties of hollies. With the wide range of sizes available to the home gardener, there is sure to be one that will fit in your Texas landscape.
6 Holly Varieties for San Antonio, Texas
1. ‘Nana’ Dwarf Yaupon Holly, pictured above. (24”- 30” tall x wide): The compact growth habit of this holly is one of the reasons it is a very popular choice for low hedges (plant 2 ft. apart). Though this holly does not produce berries or flowers, it easily grows in a petite, rounded shape that rarely needs pruning! If you need a low border or some foundation plantings, the evergreen nature of this Texas native might be just what you are looking for. This holly is also deer, disease and pest resistant, and prefers to part shade.
4. Weeping Yaupon Holly (8’-15’ tall x 6’- 8’ wide): A Central Texas native, this unique, large shrub/small tree, holly grows tall with open branches that “weep” or droop over, creating a stunning cascading effect. On female plants, bright red berries grace these branches during the winter time. Give this one some room to grow! Another deer, disease, pest, and drought resistant cultivar for our San Antonio landscapes. If you are looking for something unusual, this could be the holly for you! Full sun, part sun, or filtered sun is acceptable. There is a great picture of a Weeping Yaupon at maturity at Neil Sperry’s website. Check out the link here; he also talks about a few more varieites you may be interested in.
2. Carissa Holly (4’ tall x 4’ wide): This is the perfect sized, dense, mounding shrub. It creates a stunning effect when planted in mass, and can also be trained for a medium to lower hedge. Dark-green, glossy leaves have only one spine at the tip. These look great at the back of your mixed flower beds as a deep-green backdrop to your colorful annuals and perennials. They even look great in larger containers. Plant in full sun to part sun. Low maintenance once established, and deer resistant too!
5. Scarlet’s Peak Holly (20’ tall x 3’ wide): Did you see those dimensions? This is a hybrid holly that grows in a tall, tight column. A female holly that produces berries, Scarlet’s Peak can make a striking accent plant on the corner of your home or planted as columns flanking the sides of your doorway. Customers have also used them planted in a row between neighboring properties as a tall privacy hedge. This evergreen, cold-hardy holly has the same light requirements as the species mentioned above, and is also a xeriscape, deer resistant landscape shrub. See more about Scarlet’s Peak here.
3. Pride of Houston Yaupon Holly, pictured above. (8’-15’ tall x 6’- 8’ wide): This evergreen holly is categorized as an upright small tree or large shrub. This variety is a profuse, ornamental berry producer, probably more than any other holly. This cold-hardy, xeriscape shrub is often used as a stand alone accent piece or planted in multiples to train into a line of tall, privacy shrubs. Deer, disease, and pest resistance helps lend to the carefree status of this great landscape plant. This holly tolerates full sun, part sun, or filtered sun.
6. Dwf. Burford Holly (4’- 6’ tall x 3′-4′ wide):
Dwf. Burford hollies are a great versatile landscape shrub, but do not be misled by the “dwf.” in its name. This is still a medium sized shrub; it is just smaller than the Standard Buford. They can be used as foundation plantings, or trained as border or hedge shrubs. These Small white flowers adorn the shrub in springtime and female plants will produce bright-red berries in winter. Another attractive quality of the Burford holly is that its extremely shiny leaves are not as prickly as other holly shrubs tend to be! Plant in full sun to part sun. A deer resistant, xeriscape plant that is easy to care for once established. Standard Burford Holly has the same qualities as Dwf. Burford Holly, except its size (10’- 12’ tall x 10′-12’ wide). Make sure you are purchasing the correct one for the size of the area you wish to plant in.
Not all holly shrubs produce berries, but the ones that do are all produced on female shrubs. It can be difficult to distinguish male from female, so consult your nursery staff or purchase shrubs when in fruit to guarantee you are getting a female in doubt.
Please keep in mind that these are average landscape sizes. Many hollies can be pruned and trained to fit your needs, but in my opinion, it’s best to find one that, at maturity, will match the space that you have allotted in your landscape. Why spend extra time constantly pruning a shrub that is touted as being low maintenance once established? With all the varieties available (and there are even more than listed here) you will most likely be able to find one that fits perfectly.
~The Happy Gardener, Lisa Mulroy
I’m looking for 3 to 4 Yaupon Holly Trees. Do you have them and how much?
Hi Carmen,
Our Bandera store currently, as of today’s date, has the upright Yaupon holly in the following sizes: 3 gallon for $21.99 (18 of them in stock), and 7 gallon for $129.99-$149.99 (5 of them in stock).
How tall are the 7 gal?
Hi Michele,
What variety of holly shrub are you inquiring about?
Preferably the weeping, or the pri de of Houston
Looks like we don’t currently have the ‘Weeping’ in stock, but right now at our Bandera location you can find, ‘Pride of Houston’ in 5 gal for $39.99 that are about 3′ tall, 7 gal for $129.99 about 4′ tall, and 20 gal for $329.99 at 6′ tall.
Do you have dwarf Yaupon Holly.
Hi Mike,
Sorry this comment got buried at some point. If you haven’t already found your dwarf Yaupon (‘Nana’), at our Bandera location we currently (2-3-23) have 9 one gallons at 8.99 each, 1 two gallon for 19.99, and 9 five gallon plants for 59.99 each. I will check Thousand Oaks inventory if you need that too.
When will your first red tips be available this year. 2023? I always seem to miss the first shipment or two.
Nina,
They are here now. New shipments arrived last week. However, it’s still best to call ahead to make sure they haven’t sold out before you head in. Our inventory seems to be moving fast this year.
I am looking to plant Dwarf Buford Holly for hedging along the wall. What is best time to plant the? would they survive the few terribly cold days in San Antonio? What is the good size to plant? Do you carry them?
The best time to plant shrubs and trees in San Antonio is mid/end Oct – end November. We do commonly carry these shrubs (however inventory changes daily so it’s recommended to call ahead before coming to purchase). Unless we have more of the extended/prolonged freezes through winter like we had the past coupe of years, Dwarf Buford Hollies are very cold tolerant shrubs. You may take care to protect them the first year with frost cloth if extended cold is in the forecast, but if established properly through fall, they should most likely be great.
Will Touch of Gold Holly survive in San Antonio/ Boerne, Texas?
I believe it would! Boerne is in the plant hardiness zone of 8a-8b, and Touch of Gold holly has a cold hardiness in zones 6a – 9b.
The only thing I can think of to advise taking extra precautions with winter protection is when/if we have one of those random freeze spells where the duration of the consecutive hours it is below freezing is extreme. In case of that winter forecast, you should make plans to cover with winter protection. And of course, with any plant that needs regular watering, pay attention to times in summer when we experience extremely high temperatures and drought. It would need extra water then.
Hello, this is an add on, regarding Touch of Gold Holly, the space I have for it gets the afternoon sun; will this shrub be able to tolerate that?
Thank you kindly.
I think it would struggle quite a bit in our hot, Texas, afternoon sun. And actually on further looking into that variety, I don’t think it really likes the high pH of our soils. Maybe you could take a look at a variety of Holly called “Eureka Gold”. It likes full sun (which is really what afternoon sun is here in Texas), and it has been looking great around town, even after the hot summer. It benefits from one annual shearing in late spring to keep it dense, full and looking great.
Will the Carissa Holly live well in Austin or in hill country?
Hi Laura,
Sorry for the delay, I’ve been on medical leave. Carissa Holly will do fine in zones 8-10. It doesn’t like caliche soil or temps below 0°F (which we most likely won’t see). If your soil is mildly alkaline clay soil, you need to make sure the drainage is good.
Hello,
Will the Dwarf Burford Holly tolerate 6 hours of afternoon summer sun in San Antonio, TX?
Thank you.
Hi Ed,
I’d be somewhat leery of planting this where it’s sun exposure is mostly in the afternoon. It can develop leaf scorch, and stunted growth. It would be better off receiving the morning and early afternoon sun exposure for the needed 4-6 hours of direct sunlight; followed by part shade in the hottest time of the day (late afternoon sun).