the sexes

[dasidest]

how can i tell what is a female and male holly bush

[Thunderbird+]

Hi desidest,
With regard to the wild holly we see around in woods and countryside, at this time of the year, it's the female, mature holly bushes that bear the familiar fruits.

With regard to ornamental garden varieties sold in garden centres, it can be a little more confusing, for example there is one variety named 'Silver queen' which is actually a non fruiting male pland, conversly there is also a female variety named 'Golden king'
A good garden centre or nursery should have male or female varieties labelled so that costomers can select both kinds for cross pollination. Good Luck Tbird+

[skylight]

Hi dasidest, further to Tbird's answer, here is a site for you to have a look at : http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/plants/plantpro file_holly.shtml cheers skylight

[Robinia]

If you are about to purchase some & you like the variegated hollies I can highly recommend the Golden King that Tbird mentioned

this is mine taken a few days ago
here

once established it grew very quickly, now about 6ft tall, & it's great for picking at xmas!

[Thunderbird+]

Thats a lovely looking 'Golden King' Robinia, not too many prickles on her either, ideal for decoration purposes.