Yaupon holly

Sun

Full sun to partial shade; growth is denser and fruiting usually better in full sun.

Water

Water regularly while establishing; established plants tolerate drought and occasional wet soil.

Soil

Adaptable to sandy, loamy or clay soils, from acidic to mildly alkaline; avoid permanently waterlogged ground.

Height

10-20 ft (3-6 m); dwarf cultivars remain much smaller.

Spread

8-12 ft (2.4-3.7 m)

Flowers

Small white flowers in spring, carried on separate male and female plants.

Foliage

Evergreen. Small, leathery, oval green leaves with rounded teeth and no sharp spines.

Growth

Moderate; faster in warm conditions with adequate moisture.

Care needed

Low

• Pollinators
• Drought tolerant
• Heat tolerant
• Wildlife
• Low allergen

Northern hemisphere months. In Australia, shift them by six.

Difficulty

Easy

Toughness

Very tough

Pick your zone, country, light and whether you have pets.

1. Planting day

   1.8 ft (0.54 m)

2. After 1 year

   5 ft (1.5 m)

3. After 2 years

   8 ft (2.5 m)

4. After 3 years

   12 ft (3.5 m)

5. After 5 years

   15 ft (4.5 m)

   full size

About 4 years to full size.

From a typical nursery size, at an average rate for this kind of plant. A rule of thumb, not a forecast.

Cats and dogs

Toxic

Native to

the US

In the garden

Spreads vigorously: plan to contain it.

Growth rate

Fast

• Water deeply through the first growing season whenever the root zone begins to dry.
• Apply 2-3 in (5-8 cm) of mulch, keeping it away from the trunk and stems.
• Feed lightly in spring only if growth is weak or a soil test indicates a need.
• For berries, plant a known female and include a male yaupon that flowers at the same time.
• Remove unwanted root suckers at their point of origin before they form a thicket.

Pruning. Prune in late winter or early spring to remove damaged branches and shape the plant; gradually remove lower branches if training it as a small tree. Lightly trim hedges during active growth, but frequent shearing reduces flowers and berries.

Late winter

Remove dead or crossing branches and carry out structural pruning before new growth.

Spring

Plant new specimens, water thoroughly and mulch the root zone.

Spring

Check that male and female plants flower together if berry production is a priority.

Summer

Water young plants during dry spells and remove unwanted suckers.

Late summer

Stop heavy trimming so new growth can mature before cold weather.

Autumn

Leave berries for birds and water young plants during prolonged dry weather.

• Clip into evergreen hedges or screens for boundaries and sheltered seating areas.
• Train as a multistemmed small tree beside a terrace, leaving room for its mature crown.
• Combine with beautyberry and muhly grass for contrasting fruit, foliage and seasonal texture.
• Use in coastal gardens where salt spray and sandy soil limit less tolerant shrubs.
• Plant in mixed native borders to provide year-round cover and winter fruit for birds.

Garden styles it suits: Southern, Coastal, Wildlife garden, Formal, Topiary garden and Low-maintenance.

Plant it with: American beautyberry, Wax myrtle, Pink muhly grass, Switchgrass and Dwarf palmetto.

Wildlife: Spring flowers provide nectar and pollen for bees and other insects. Birds eat the berries, and dense evergreen branches provide shelter and nesting cover.

• Scale insects can cause sticky honeydew and black sooty mould; prune heavily infested shoots and use a labelled horticultural oil when conditions are suitable.
• Leaf miners leave pale trails or blotches; minor damage needs no treatment, and badly affected leaves can be removed.
• Root rot can develop in persistently saturated soil; improve drainage or move the plant to a better-drained position.
• Few or no berries usually means a male plant, no compatible male nearby, or excessive clipping; check plant sex and allow flowering shoots to develop.

Treat the berries and leaves as toxic to people, cats, dogs and horses. Berries contain saponins and can cause vomiting, diarrhoea and abdominal discomfort; leaves contain caffeine, which can also poison animals. Small berry ingestions usually cause gastrointestinal illness rather than severe poisoning, but seek medical or veterinary advice after ingestion, especially if symptoms develop.

Where it spreads. Can spread aggressively by root suckers and form dense thickets in its native range, particularly in Texas pastures and other southeastern US landscapes where fire or grazing patterns have changed. This is native woody encroachment rather than an introduced invasive population.

• Japanese holly (Ilex crenata)

  Has similar small, rounded-toothed leaves but normally bears black fruit rather than red.

• Inkberry (Ilex glabra)

  Usually has larger, more elongated leaves with teeth concentrated near their tips, and black fruit.

• Boxwood (Buxus sempervirens)

  Leaves grow in opposite pairs and have smooth margins; yaupon leaves alternate along the stems and have rounded teeth.

The epithet vomitoria refers to vomiting associated with historical ceremonial drinks made using yaupon, rather than proving that yaupon leaf tea itself is emetic.

Propagation. Take semi-ripe cuttings in summer to preserve the sex and characteristics of a selected plant. Seed germination is slow and irregular, and seedlings vary in sex and habit.

Accepted botanical name

Ilex vomitoria

In the US and Canada

Native in the lower 48 states.

Native range

Alabama, Arkansas, Cuba, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mexico Southeast, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas.

Measured

Soil pH 4.5 to 7. Average height 415 cm.

Sources: GBIF (CC BY 4.0), USDA PLANTS and Trefle (CC BY 4.0). The care and design notes are LandscapeGPT's own.