Wildlife | Gardening in the Panhandle

Reliable Hollies

by Beth Bolles | Feb 18, 2014

Looking for a new shrub or small tree this year? Interested in one that is low maintenance and offers beautiful green color? Why not try a holly.

Hollies can be found in landscapes throughout North Florida. Many times these plants are used in foundation plantings around homes. They can help make the transition from the hard lines of a home to other parts of the yard. In other landscapes, hollies make an excellent screen, dividing property or blocking a view.

Because hollies are commonplace, they may be overlooked by homeowners who want to add an attractive new plant to the landscape. Hollies have many uses and there are new selections entering the market worth considering.

In general hollies will not need a great amount of maintenance. Once established most species will require only occasional water, fertilizer, and pruning. Many hollies have even grown well under neglected conditions. If you are one that keeps holly plants pruned as hedges, you will need to watch for the scale insect and spray plants with a horticultural oil every year.

When selecting a holly plant, it is good to know a little about the area where you want to place the plant. Hollies vary in size and ability to tolerate wet soil, so it is important to match a species with your specific site. Also consider holly leaf shapes when using the plants in areas where people walk. Some holly leaves are very stiff and sharp and could injury visitors to you home or be a nuisance when you are working in the yard.

If you are interested in the added beauty of holly berries during the year, remember to select a female plant.

Hollies also attract bees to the landscape.
Credit: Beth Bolles, UF IFAS Extension Escambia County

Tree form hollies that you may select include the American holly (Ilex opaca), Savannah holly (Ilex x attenuata ‘Savannah’), and the Burford holly (Ilex cornuta ‘Burfordii’). All three plants will need well-drained soil. The American and Savannah holly will both reach heights between 20 and 40 feet and have a pyramidal growth form. The Savannah holly leaves will be a lighter green color than the leaves of other holly species. Burford holly has thick dark green leaves and grows about 12-15 feet in height over time.

Burford holly is a beautiful holly that gives birds a place to hide.
Credit: Beth Bolles, UF IFAS Extension Escambia County

If you have a wet site, consider the Dahoon holly which can be a specimen plant or used as a screen. This plant will develop attractive grayish bark and grow about 20 feet in height with more of a spread than the previously mentioned hollies.

There are medium-sized hollies that make excellent specimen plants about 12 feet in height. ‘Festive’ holly has dark green foliage and forms dense growth in a pyramidal form. The ‘Robin’ holly has a similar growth form but displays beautiful reddish new growth. Both of these plants will need well-drained soil and full sun or partial shade.

For those areas that require smaller evergreen plants, consider a ‘Bordeaux’ yaupon holly. These plants will grow about 4 feet in height and spread and form a dense growth of stiff stems with small leathery leaves. Since these plants keep a naturally round form it is not necessary to shear them. Both hollies will tolerate a wide range of soil conditions and require little maintenance once established.

Battling Bat Myths

by Carrie Stevenson | Nov 4, 2013

As we leave Halloween season, one of the most popular images of this spooky time of year is that of a bat. The creepy tales of vampire bats and Dracula are enduring and certainly exciting. Unfortunately, many negative connotations exist around this fascinating species. Perhaps you’ve heard they carry rabies, that they will fly into your hair, or that many of them are considered blood-sucking vampire bats? In fact, there are many benefits to having bats in one’s landscape and neighborhood. The predominant role of bats in our local ecosystem is that of insect predator. A single little brown bat (Myotis lucifugis), which is native to the Florida Panhandle, can eat 1,200 mosquitoes in one hour of feeding! Many species eat moths that would otherwise cause destruction to agricultural crops and home vegetable gardens. Other species in warmer climates eat fruit and play a major role in re-foresting rain forests in Central and South America—after digesting the fruit they leave seeds in their droppings (guano is excellent fertilizer, by the way), helping replant 95% of the very trees they feed upon. Some species feed on nectar, filling the same role as bees and helping pollinate bananas, avocados, cashews, and figs.

A young bat roosts along the bricks of a UWF campus building last summer.

Contrary to popular belief, bats are not blind and many have excellent vision. However, they do rely heavily on echolocation to sense prey and are extremely accurate hunters. They often fly erratically because they are chasing very small flying insects, so the only reason one would end up in a person’s hair is if a mosquito flew through it with a bat in chase! While vampire bats do exist, of more than 1,200 species of bats in the world there are only 3 that feed on blood, and they all live in Latin America. They also tend to feed on the blood of livestock. Human contact with bats is rare unless the bats are sick, which is why one found on the ground should be left alone. Rabies transmission from bats accounts for only one death per year in the United States—a statistic much less than that of deaths from dog bites, bee stings, and lighting strikes! In fact, several towns in Texas with the highest populations of bats in the country have recorded zero human bat-transmitted rabies cases.

These 4-H campers built bat houses to provide shelter for bats in their neighborhoods

Bat populations are declining in North America due to disease (particularly white-nose syndrome), loss of habitat, and the slow reproductive cycle of bats. However, you can help the world’s only flying mammal by installing a bat house in your yard. Keep in mind that bats attracted to bat houses prefer to be in open areas away from trees (where their predators hide), and the house should be installed at least 12 feet in the air. Bat houses can be purchased or built rather simply—keep an eye out for Extension workshops near you, or check out the publication “Effective Bat Houses for Florida” online. In addition, Bat Conservation International’s website has a wealth of information on conservation projects worldwide.