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Gardening with Native Texas Plants~Possumhaw

By Shirley Parks

Real Estate Broker/Owner with Sands Realty 210-414-0966 Texas License #0331413

April 04, 2009 04:18 PM

The POSSUMHAW (Ilex decidua) is well known for it's red-orange berries that can be seen in San Antonio and the Hill Country in the wintertime. Also known as a Yaupon Holly, this shrub has little white blooms in the spring and then clusters of spectacular red or orange berries appear on the stems in fall and winter after the leaves have fallen.

The Possumhaw or Yaupon Holly is easy to grow in any type of soil and is drought resistant. It can be planted in full sun or half day sun. Great for birdwatchers: The plant will attract birds to your yard since the red berries are an important food source for them. Many people use the stems of berries in Christmas decorating.

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Ricki Eichler McCallum

CastNet Realty - Corpus Christi, TX

Broker,GRI,ABR, e-Pro, TAHS

Good idea to put these plant varieties out to folks that are thinking about Spring plantings. thanks!

Apr 04, 2009 04:48 PM

Dale Baker

Baker Energy Audits and Commercial Properties Inspections - Claremont, NH

New Hampshire Relocation Real Estate Information

Howdy there Shirley

I uesed the stems in Christmas arrangements, when I was in the foral business.

I'll have to check and see if it will grow in these here parts.

God Bless America

Apr 04, 2009 06:01 PM

Mike Saunders

Retired - Athens, GA

Shirley - hadn't heard the Yaupon called Possumhaw. It is one of the few deciduous hollies. That is a lot of berries.

Apr 05, 2009 01:42 AM

Shirley Parks

Sands Realty 210-414-0966 - San Antonio, TX

Broker, 210-414-0966, San Antonio TX Real Estate

Hi Mike, The name is kind of funny. Wonder how they came up with it?

Hi Dale, I didn't know you were in the floral business! I think this plant is native to the south but may grow where you are. I'm pretty sure it's cousin (can't remember the name), a type of holly will grow in NH.

Hi, Ricki, we are planning on having some landscaping done and I am trying to decide on plants.

Apr 05, 2009 02:50 AM

I was in the floral business, back home in Missouri. Worked in both the wholesale and retail ends of the business. Had a real good reputation in the business also. Was always geting calls from wholesalers and other flower shopes to see if I would come to work for them. Did AFS and FTD floral competition's back home also. When I would meet someone outside the business and told them what I did. They would always say, you don't look like a guy that would be in that business. Always got a hoot out of that.

Apr 05, 2009 09:46 AM

Dale, That's funny and so true that people tend to make judgments based on what little facts they have. Our brains are always trying to make sense of the world. When my sister-in-law and her husband first moved to a small town and were in a restaurant, someone came up and told them of a company in town that was hiring. Actually, my brother-in-law was the new town doctor.

Apr 05, 2009 11:43 AM

Carl Winters

Canyon Lake, TX

Shirley - Ceil says they would certainly go good with flower arrangements around the holiday season. I wonder if the deer eat the berries. Right now they are so hungary they are eating everything in sight.

Apr 05, 2009 03:21 PM

Hi C&C, I also love Nandina, which has delicate stems and red berries and will proliferate where they are planted. I don't know if deer eat the berries of either the Possumhaw (Yaupon) or the Nandina.

Apr 06, 2009 07:27 AM

Anonymous

Andrea

I didnt realize the possumhaw and the yaupon were the same. I think they are slightly different. I think the yaupon keeps green leaves and grows slightly bigger than the possumhaw. Curious where you got your trees. I am in Houston and looking all over texas to purchase and can't find.

Nov 27, 2019 12:20 AM

Gardening with Native Texas Plants~Possumhaw

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