Foliage Friday: Yaupon 'Pride of Houston'

Okay, I'm cheating a little.  I love the plant not so much for its foliage, although it does have neat, trim little green leaves.  But the entire plant just says Christmas to me.

Yaupon 'Pride of Houston'

Yaupon 'Pride of Houston' (or Ilex vomitoria 'Pride of Houston') is an improved cultivar of our beautiful native yaupon holly.  It has a neat, upright growth habit, and many more berries than the unimproved variety.  To me, the trunk seems more white, which makes for a great contrast with the dark green, toothed leaves and the brilliant red berries.

'Pride of Houston,' like its native cousin, tolerates a wide array of light conditions, from full sun to mostly bright shade.  It's not picky either about soil and will grow in sand or clay.  It does tend to sucker, but makes a pretty multi-trunk shrub or small tree if left unpruned. 

I can say from personal experience that mockingbirds and cedar waxwings will love you for planting yaupon hollies!   

Note:  the dwarf yaupons sold as small, compact, evergreen pom-poms won't produce fruit -- they're sterile.