Author: Bill Hirst
Article: Ilex 'Dragon Lady'
Dragon Lady Hollies are plants for zone 6b-8a. These hollies are thought of as perfect columnar hollies. These hollies can reach 20' in height and 6' in width. The leaves being smaller than most hollies with stiff, pointed spines are not very tasty to deer. This is one of its many benificial points if your landscape has a high deer population in the area. This holly can be used as a specimen or a hedge, is self fruiting with glossy green foliage and a reddish tint on the new growth. To bad all hollies are not like this! The Dragon Lady holly will leave open spots in its growth. Hard pruning generally helps correct this detraction but makes full plants more costly to produce. You can expect a 4-5' holly, being well developed within 6-7 years from a 2 gallon liner. This plant is a sharp looking plant in your landscape. There is no doubt that this will be a plant that you will see more of. It holds up well for us and we have large herds of deer at our Doylestown nursery.
Damage to seedlings by deer will increase as it has over the past 20 years. We don't believe that there are any 100 per cent effective methods to stop deer damage except 10' high woven wire fences that are to costly for most small growers and homeowners. Human populations moving to rural areas will continue. Loss of huntable land will increase as will deer populations. Deer having multiple births coupled with increasing gun regulation is likly to continue. This means plant selection will become more important.
There are few natural controls for deer populations especially in urban areas. Planting shrubs that repell deer is your most effective means to avoid deer damage. Opening your land to hunting is an effective alternative practice for lowering deer populations. Since deer are nocturnal, hunting may not be totally effective. On our farm we have lots of feed, our plants, but little cover which is where the deer are durring hunting seasons. This means that you must have an integrated pest management plan. This plan should include the following: popualtion management(hunting), repellants, selecting resistant plants, fencing, knowledge of deer habits for integrating your management plan. The Dragon Lady holly is not eatable for deer.
Deer feeding will occur on fertilized and unfertilize plants. Most browsing of seedlings will occur at night. By planting less-preferred seedlings and ornamental trees and shrubs in unprotected areas and surrounding preferred seedlings by less-preferred seedlings, deer damage is lessened. Susceptible plants shoud be fenced or planted near occupied structures. Backyard dogs are effective in keeping deer away. Your knowledge of deer feeding habits should be your first line of defence. A plan based on this knowledge will provide seedlings growers with less expensive alternatives to dangerous chemiacls repellants and hard to maintain fences and physical barriers. Deer are creatures of habit. Deer are not going search in the woods for scarce food when it is available in quanity and quality in your back yard. Once they find easy to browse plants in your landscape, they will become like giant rats invading you backyard at night. They will return night after night and eat you nursery stock until it is gone. Some deer in certain areas will eat holly and white pines, while deer in other areas won't. Therefore plant preference lists are only rough guides to deer damage susceptibility.
In general browsing damage to nursery stock will be highest when snow or extreme weather reduces food availability. Succulent young growth is an attractive deer food source in the spring time. When food is in short supply deer will feed on less desireable plants. Deer eat a variety of vegetation including woody plants, fruits, nuts, ornamental trees, shrubs, vines, grasses, and garden vegetables. Landscaping based deer feeding habits will reduce or eliminate costly browsing damage to your nursery stock and ornamentals.
Always try and reduce deer herds. Fewer deer mean less browsing pressure. We once had a deer hunt where hunters paid 100 dollars each to a police gun fund for the control of deer on our nursery that is located next to Peace Valley Park. For weeks the control worked and deer damage was controlled.
Some people use soap bars. Leave the soap in its wrapper and drill a hole thru the bar. Attach the soap bar with twine to a branch and allow it to hang 3-4' off the ground. Hang the bar away from the center of the tree. This will act as a natural repellant for deer. Use multiple bars for large nursery stock and trees.
Other Seedlings and Liners We Recommend:
Boxwoods Red Osier Dogwood Russian Olive Rose of Sharon Hollies Leucothoe River Birch Trees Japanese Cedars Blue Spruce trees Austrin Pine Barberries Andromeda
Highland Hill Farm Po. Box 517 Fountainville, PA 18923 (215-345-0946) http://www.seedlingsrus.com or http://www.highlandhillfarm.com
About the author: This plant is a deer resistant plant that has many qualities.
