The Japanese hollies (Ilex crenata): are evergreen shrubs with relatively small, spineless leaves and black fruit. They are usually 3 to 10 feet high, with a similar spread and look more like a boxwood than a holly. They range from slow-growing to relatively fast-growing, and are a good choice for hedges. Japanese hollies tolerate severe pruning.

Many cultivars are available. Some of them are:

* ‘Helleri’ is a compact form, which reaches 4 feet at maturity.
* ‘Convexa’ has dark-green leaves, is a heavy fruit producer and may reach 9 feet tall and 24 feet wide.
* ‘Hetzii’ is a dwarf form of ‘Convexa’ and grows 2 to 3 feet in height.
* ‘Roundleaf’ is a male selection that does not produce berries. Plants grow 5 to 10 feet tall and 5 to 12 feet wide.

The Chinese hollies (Ilex cornuta): produce large, spiny leaves that are very glossy and dark green in color. Most Chinese hollies grow quite large, 10 to 15 feet. They are one of the few hollies that produce berries without pollination.

* ‘Burfordii’ or Burford holly grows to 20 feet tall and wide. The heavy fruit set attracts many birds.
* ‘Rotunda’ or Dwarf Chinese holly grows only to 3 to 4 feet tall and 6 to 8 feet wide. Plants usually do not produce berries.
* ‘Berries Jubilee’ is a dome-shaped plant, 6 to 10 feet tall, with large leaves and a heavy crop of large, bright red berries.

American Holly (Ilex opaca): is the traditional Christmas holly with large, spiny green leaves and bright red berries. American hollies grow into trees to 50 feet tall. Many cultivars exist. Among the best known are:

* ‘Dan Fenton’ has large, glossy leaves.
* ‘Jersey Delight’ and ‘Jersey Princess’; ‘Jersey Knight’ is the male pollen source.
* ‘Merry Christmas’ with glossy, deep green leaves and red berries.
* ‘Stewart’s Silver Crown’ with leaves edged in cream and marbled with gray green.
* ‘Yellow Berry’ with bright yellow berries.

English holly (Ilex aquifolium): is an evergreen tree with very spiny, glossy foliage and bright red berries. Cultivars with white variegated leaf margins are very distinctive. English hollies dislike poor drainage and low temperatures. Their growth rate is quite slow.

Yaupon holly (Ilex vomitoria): is native from Long Island, New York to central Florida and west to Texas. In South Carolina it grows into a small evergreen tree, 3 to 15 feet tall and 3 to 10 feet wide. Female plants produce small red berries in large clusters. New growth has a purplish tinge, which turns dark green. Yaupon Holly tolerates wind and hot climates better than most evergreen hollies. Some cultivars are:

* ‘Nana’ or ‘Dwarf Yaupon Holly,’ a small, moundlike shrub, 3 to 5 feet high and very broad;
* ‘Pendula’, a weeping type, reaching 15 to 20 feet with beautiful fruit.

Possumhaw or Ilex decidua: is a deciduous small tree, 6 to 10 feet tall, with dark green, 3-inch leaves and orange to red berries, which last into winter or spring.

Inkberry or Ilex glabra: is an evergreen shrub, to 10 feet tall, with thick, spineless leaves and black berries. The dwarf form ‘Compacta’ grows to 4 feet, but can be sheared to make a 2-foot hedge.

Lusterleaf Holly or Ilex latifolia: is a slow-growing evergreen tree, to 30 feet tall. Leaves are 6 to 8 inches long (largest of all hollies).

Meserve Holly or Ilex meserveae: is a 6- to 7- foot, evergreen shrub that is very cold hardy.

Winterberry or Ilex verticillata: is a deciduous shrub, which unlike most hollies thrives in boggy soils. Plants grow 6 to 10 feet tall and female plants bear enormous crops of bright red berries that last all winter.

‘Nellie R. Stevens’ holly: is a cross between English and Chinese holly. This fast-growing cultivar has excellent dark green foliage and large, red berries and makes an excellent specimen tree.