By Lee Gordon
This begins a short series on some of our local native plants that are superb for our native gardens, but which are largely overlooked.
Summer holly is an uncommon San Diego shrub that is a member of the Ericaceae (Heath family) along with manzanitas and blueberries. As are many of our native heaths, it is also an uncommonly beautiful plant. It is evergreen, with displays of white flowers in the spring and bright red berries in the summer and fall. They are an unusual source of garden color this time of year.
Summer holly grows near the bottom of the canyons threading their way through the Del Mar Mesa Preserve, as well as other locations. They get lots of water there and they grow huge. The Point Loma Native Garden has four beautiful 30-year-old specimens. They had been neglected most of their lives, but regular watering starting about three years ago caused them to start growing again. This year they were watered with about 1” of water every month, and they look better than ever. They are about 10’ tall, 6’ wide, and covered with red berries and glossy leaves.
Summer holly is available locally in 1-, 5-, and 15-gallon pots. I just planted one from a 5-gallon pot at a steep site in an organic clay soil. I will irrigate monthly (~1”), and as it grows, I will trim lower branches to give it just a bit of a tree shape and to expose its trunk. Trimming also encourages growth at the top. I will keep surrounding plants from crowding it because I want the whole plant to be visible in its natural upright shape. I expect it to grow to 10’ in 5 years, and to keep on growing beyond that. Its slow growth reduces maintenance and makes it easier for me to form it into the shape I want.
While the conventional wisdom is that native plants do not need fertilizer, I plan to fertilize this plant with GroPower organic fertilizer when it is watered, and MiracleGro in between watering. It will be interesting to see how large a well-watered, well-fertilized summer holly can get.
Below: This freshly planted summer holly came in a 5-gallon pot. I wanted a large plant to make it more visible from the start. The scrub oak behind it is probably too close, and in time, I will remove it. There is no shortage of oaks in this garden!