Photo credit: www.treesandplants.com

Fall is a wonderful time to plant trees, and with Christmas right around the corner, why not choose one with a little holiday spirit? If you’d like a tree that says “Humbug!” in the most Spirited Victorian fashion, consider a ‘Nellie R. Stevens’ holly (Ilex ‘Nellie R. Stevens’).

‘Nellie R. Stevens’ is a handsome, dense, pyramidal evergreen with exceptionally glossy, dark green foliage and an abundance of bright red berries in winter. It performs well in full sun to partial shade and prefers moist, well-drained soil. Mature plants can reach about 20 to 25 feet tall, 10 to 15 feet wide, making ‘Nellie R. Stevens’ a beautiful specimen, hedge, or evergreen backdrop.

For a more formal landscape, plant three together in a triangle shape or let a single ‘Nellie R. Stevens’ command the center of a large formal bed. Prefer a more natural, woodsy Florida look? Use the holly with longleaf pines and Southern red cedars as the backdrop, then bring the planting forward with American beautyberry, coontie, oakleaf hydrangea, and muhly grass. Traditional Christmas in the back, Florida in the front.

‘Nellie R. Stevens’ holly has quite a history. In 1900, Maryland schoolteacher Nellie Robinson Stevens collected holly berries while visiting the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C. and grew the seeds at home. One seedling became the beloved ‘Nellie R. Stevens’ holly, a hybrid of Chinese and English hollies. The plant remained a family treasure until 1952, when Stevens’ niece, Eunice Highley, shared it with the Talbot County Garden Club. Not a bad legacy from a handful of berries!

Those glossy evergreen branches and brilliant red berries also make ‘Nellie R. Stevens’ a natural for holiday decorating. Cut a few branches for wreaths and arrangements, add Christmas lights to the tree outdoors, and you have a holly that earns its keep well beyond December.

And why Spirited? It’s my favorite Christmas musical: joyful, energetic, downright fun, with incredible music and dancing, plus a heartfelt message about forgiveness, family, and second chances. A little “Humbug,” a lot of heart, and a ‘Nellie R. Stevens’ holly glowing in the landscape. Now that’s my kind of Christmas.