I bet you didn't know . . .

. . . that out of its growing range and if it gets cold enough, youpon holly (Ilex vomitoria) is deciduous.

I didn't either.

I had it under protection, but it didn't like the two nights when we got into single digits here in western North Carolina. But there is a silver lining. It allowed me to get in and see the branch structure, which was -- and maybe still is -- much too dense and every-which-way..

It was cold enough that the dolomite rock it is growing around fractured (you can see the difference around the tree base).



Hre it is a couple of years ago with leaves. You can see how dense the canopy was.

So now you want us to beg you to post a picture with new leaves?

Are you sure its deciduous and not expired?

I'd think about pruning that long branch to the right. It's lack of taper ruins the image of a small tree. It's gross scale is very apparent with no leaves.

I's alive! It's alive! All branches are showing healthy green under the bark and buds are starting to show (assuming we don't get any more REAL cold weather).

Nice tree Jim and a very unconventionally styled one at that. I have a tree too that is styled like that....

Ravi

The tree is modeled after a very large Penjing that once/still is at one of the gardens in Beijing (from a picture, since I've never been there).

It is a Florida tree that is a bit unhappy at my moving it north. This has been an especially nasty winter. I've had it in "protection" but it still is protesting.

Hi I am sure the tree (despite protests) will get acclimatised to your local climactic conditions... sooner rather than later...

Ravi

Jim,

Was this tree from nursery stock? Or from the wild? I have youpons growing all over the place here, but I've also heard that they are hard to lift from the wild and keep alive. I want to try, though.

Libby

bumblebee wrote:Jim,

Was this tree from nursery stock? Or from the wild? I have youpons growing all over the place here, but I've also heard that they are hard to lift from the wild and keep alive. I want to try, though.

Libby

My experience is that they are easy to collect and work on. I've lifted a bunch in Texas with almost a 100% survival rate.

Mine's from a nursery.

I saw them listed as South Carolina seashores and inland.
http://www.plantmaps.com/nrm/ilex-vomitoria-yaupon-native-range-map.php

Luck.
Khaimraj

I collected seven large yaupon hollies from a Houston, Texas backyard which were approx. 20 years old. I hauled them in the back of a pickup truck, cross country, to Virginia. I kept the root balls in black plastic garbage bags and watered them daily. Six recovered very well to become nice trees. I think the key was keeping the roots wet until they could be potted up. Three had shallow root balls which could be planted directly into suitable bonsai containers. The others were planted into nursery pots. Most of the trees had desicated foliage due to the wind in the back of the truck, but they budded back. I wish I still had some of them. I believe them to be easy to collect.
Best, Todd

Alrighty then. Next weekend I'll get busy. Or maybe I should wait until closer to spring?

Libby

JIM,THE holly looks good very nice trunk...the guy in georgia had some of them in the nursery,,i had one but west virginia weather got it the first year... i would not change it looks good to me..take care john