Ilex opaca 'Old Heavy Berry'
Old Heavy Berry American Holly

Ilex opaca ′Old Heavy Berry′ - Overall Habit

Family:

Aquifoliaceae (Holly Family) 21

Genus:

Ilex (Holly Inkberry Gallberry Winterberry Black Alder Alder, Black Coralberry) 21

Plant Type:

Tree 579

Hardiness:

USDA Zone 5 236

Deciduous / Evergreen:

Evergreen 249

Flowers:

White (Spring; dioecious; fragrant, but not ornamentally important)

Foliage:

Green (Especially dark green, lustrous evergreen foliage)

Fruit:

Red (Numerous large, showy red berries (on female plants) that ripen in fall and can persist into winter)

Ultimate Height:

40-50 feet

Ultimate Spread:

18-40 feet

Light Requirements:

Soil:

Prefers acidic, well-drained soil; does not tolerate wet soil and poor drainage

Diagnostic Characteristics:

Evergreen leaves (1.5-3.5" long) are dark green above, alternate, and simple with large remote spiny teeth (1 to 8 at the most per side). Leaf scar is half-moon shaped with a very prominent vascular bundle in the center. An ovoid, imbricate greenish-brown bud sits above the middle of the leaf scar. Stems are green when young, turning brown with raised circular lenticels.

Special Characteristics:

Fruiting Characteristics 208

Groupings 190

Screen 170

Specimen 602

Pollution Tolerant 217

Slow Growth Rate 269

Winter Interest 90

Additional Information

'Old Heavy Berry' is an excellent, vigorous female cultivar with good winter hardiness and an abundance of large, bright red fruits. This species, like other hollies, is dioecious, so plant females for fruit and an occasional male for pollination. Winter dessication injury can occur on leaves in exposed sites. Holly leaf miners are one of the major problem pests for Ilex opaca.