Ilex verticillata Southern Gentleman

Ilex verticillata Southern Gentleman is a male variety that pollinates female varieties like Maryland Beauty. Derived from a deciduous botanical species native to Canada and the northeastern U.S.A, it is a deciduous shrub perfectly hardy and well adapted to wet and acidic soils.  Its interest lies in its beautiful autumn colours. The female plants pollinated by this male plant will bear very pretty bright red berries along their branches, which often persist until the following spring. Superb in a natural garden or integrated into a hedge, it also excels on the banks of watercourses.

Holly belongs to the Aquifoliaceae family. Ilex verticillata is a suckering and very common shrub, loving acidic soils and cool to wet areas.  It also adapts to open spaces such as meadows or occasionally the dry sandy soils of dunes. It is found in a large part of the North American territory. It is quite polymorphous, adopting the appearance of a large spreading bush 5m (16 ft 5 in) tall and 6m (19 ft 8 in) wide, or the more modest habit of a narrow shrub not exceeding 2m (6 ft 7 in) in height. This species is dioecious, meaning there are separate male and female plants.

'Southern Gentleman' is a late flowering male variety, with vigorous growth, reaching about 2m (6 ft 7 in) in all directions. The deciduous foliage is composed of obovate or lanceolate leaves, long and slender, measuring from 3 to 9cm (1.2 to 3.5 in), with toothed edges. The spring shoots turn purple. Mature leaves are bright green and shiny on the upper side, lighter and velvety on the underside. The autumn colours in shades of yellow-orange with purple or violet reflections are beautiful. The flowering takes place in spring, in the form of small white flowers not exceeding 5mm (0.2 in) in diameter. The male flowers are clustered. When pollination occurs, the flowers of late-flowering female plants (for example 'Cacapon', 'Shaver', 'Sparkleberry', 'Sunset', 'Winter Red' and 'Winter Gold') transform into small globose and shiny fruits, dark red to scarlet, which delight birds in winter.

The Ilex verticillata Southern Gentleman brings fabulous colours to the garden, especially in autumn. It is perfect in a mixed hedge, accompanied by Elaeagnus Zempin, coyote willow (Salix exigua), Cotoneaster lacteus, deciduous euonymus, or elderberries. It dislikes excess limestone, which causes its beautiful foliage to turn yellow, and greatly prefers cool to wet and fairly fertile soils. Hardy well beyond -15°C, it particularly enjoys the vicinity of a water source in a large natural garden. Plant it in cold and humid regions, along with hawthorns, symphorines, pyracanthas with yellow or orange berries, and other evergreen hollies.