Ilex x koehneana (Ilex latifolia x I. aquifolium) ‘Hohman’

Ilex x koehneana, the Koehne or chestnut-leaf holly, is a bold hybrid between the Asian lusterleaf holly, Ilex latifolia, and the European holly, Ilex aquifolium, combining the big glossy leaf of one parent with the classic red berries and spined margins of the other. 'Hohman' is one of the finest of the group for the South: a large, dense, pyramidal evergreen carrying handsome dark green, serrated leaves and heavy crops of bright red fruit, building to twenty-five feet in time.

This is a holly in the grand, Christmas-card manner, the lustrous spined leaves and scarlet berries that the European holly made famous, but on a plant far better suited to Southern heat than true English holly, thanks to the tough Asian parent. The berried branches are the classic holiday green, and songbirds strip the fruit through winter; as with all hollies, the berries feed the birds and not people, being mildly toxic if eaten. A female clone, 'Hohman' needs a compatible male holly within range to fruit.

The plant was raised by, or named for, the late Henry Hohman of the famous Kingsville Nurseries in Maryland, a legendary source of choice woody plants in the mid-twentieth century. The Koehne hybrids from that era have proven themselves durable, handsome landscape evergreens across the middle and lower South, and 'Hohman' remains among the best known.

Give 'Hohman' the space a large pyramidal holly deserves, twenty to twenty-five feet tall and roughly half as wide, and use the plant as a specimen, a tall clipped or informal hedge, a screen, or a dark evergreen anchor at the corner of a large building. The glossy foliage reads well from a distance and takes shearing; the red winter fruit shows best against the deep green. Full sun to part shade and good, well-drained soil suit the plant, with a male holly nearby for the fullest crop.