Ilex purpurea Seeds | Red Holly
LATIN NAME: Ilex purpurea
COMMON NAME: Red Holly
Plant Profile
Ilex purpurea, commonly known as Red Holly, is an evergreen shrub in the holly family, native to warm hills of the eastern Asia, while it is treasured for its fine, red-berried form. In holly family it is glossy, red-berried holly of warm hills, a shrub that keeps winter garden bright with its dense clusters of red fruit. Mature plants top out at about Ten metres. When it flowers, local bees and other insects make good use of it. Taken as a whole, it is a plant that repays a little attention many times over.
Science & Biotechnology
Ilex purpurea sits in the holly family, a group that keeps botanists, horticulturists and plant breeders busy with questions of classification, adaptation and ornamental potential. Red holly roots and leaves are a familiar subject in traditional plant chemistry of the eastern Asia, and constituents have been examined with greatest care by researchers across the world. Raising it from seed today is a matter of ordinary good practice rather than specialist skill.
Uses & Benefits
Red Holly brings genuine presence to the garden and earns its keep across the growing season. In winter garden, red holly is glossy shrub of red berry clusters. Its small, whitish flowers feed insects, its dense clusters of red fruits feed birds of winter, and dense, evergreen growth gives cover and shelter through cold months. It is treasured for glossy, toothed leaves and bright, red fruit clusters, and it grows well in moist, well-drained ground of sheltered spot. Thereafter it wants only the ordinary attentions any garden plant receives.
The holly genus gives the world yerba mate and yaupon, caffeinated teas rich in antioxidants, and the Chinese Ku Ding Cha, an intensely bitter infusion studied for metabolic effects. Ornamental hollies have toxic berries and are for the birds.
Growing from Seed
Seed is the natural starting point for Red Holly, and the process is uncomplicated. Scatter the seed evenly over a loose seed compost, cover to no more than its own depth, and keep the pot moist and bright. When the young plants are big enough to handle, space them into pots or a nursery row and let them size up before their final move.
Our Take
Red Holly is the kind of plant that rewards a permanent spot. Moisture matters most while plants are young; established plants cope with far more.
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