Holly Farm History

In 1987 we began looking at the feasibility of growing and marketing true American Hollies (Ilex Opaca). We quickly found very few nurseries were growing Hollies. Those that offered American Hollies had very few available. Many nurseries we visited had poor quality Hollies in stock. When we spoke with the Holly experts we found that in the 1950's, and 1960's, large numbers of American Hollies were grown. As years passed, many of the younger nurserymen were not interested in growing a crop that could take 6-8 years to develop a 6'-8' tree. Cultivation of American Hollies decreased to almost zero.

Since the market was in need of well grown American Hollies, we decided to test for the hardiest varieties. We purchased a 40 acre farm and installed 10 acres to trickle irrigation. Next we planted 2400 rooted Ilex Opaca. These consisted of 24 varieties, 100 of each. Today we have an inventory of over 15,000 quality Ilex Opaca and each year plant 2,000 to 3,000 new trees. We are one of the largest suppliers of quality Ilex Opaca.