Dahoon Holly

Ilex cassine

The dahoon holly is a densly foliated, upright shrub that can grow to 25 feet. But Ilex cassine can be kept much smaller with regular pruning.

This dahoon is growing in the Japanese Garden at Heathcote Botanical Gardens in Fort Pierce, Florida.

The 1-2 inch long bright green leaves contrast festively with the small red or yellow berries which remain on female trees nearly year round. Each inch wide leaf ends in a needle-sharp point. The quarter inch berries provide food for birds during the winter months. The white flowers which precede them are inconspicuous.

The dull black bark of this shrub is often covered with moss or lichens.

This moisture-loving holly is found in the swamps of Florida and Louisiana as well as the moist lowlands of North Carolina. It is hardy in zones 5-10. It is evergreen at the southern end of its range but deciduous when exposed to freezing weather.

Dahoon can be grown in full sun as long as plenty of water is provided. It is less thirsty when situated in shade.

Ilex cassine can be propagated by sowing the seed from the ripe berries. The drawback to this is that you won't know if you've got females or males until the trees mature many years later. Because only the females produce berries, they are more desirable landscape plants.

To insure that you get a female plant, take cuttings from a dahoon with berries on it.

Another way to get a fruiting plant is to use the suckers that sometimes grow around the base of a mature shrub. Pot and pamper these for a year before planting them into the open ground.

Japanese Privet
The Japanese privet is a 15 foot evergreen shrub which can be trimmed into a hedge or limbed up into an attractive multi-trunked small tree. The 3 inch long dark green leaves are thick and glossy with blunt tips. There are variegated varieties with white or yellow leaf edges.

American Beautyberry
The iridescent purple fruit of the American beautyberry (sometimes spelled beauty berry) is an important dietary supplement for many species of birds.

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