The holly, whose botanical name is Ilex, is often planted as a replacement for boxwood. Due to its slow growth, it is also suitable for planting in containers and growing as a bonsai. What should you know about the roots of Ilex?
How do you implement Ilex and what root does it have?
Ilex, also called holly, is a deep-rooted plant with a heart root. To transplant Ilex, you should cut off the lateral roots in spring and place the plant in the new planting hole in autumn. When repotting Ilex in a pot, a deep and wide pot shape is important.
Ilex is a deep-rooted person
Ilex has a heart root and is therefore one of the deep-rooted. That's why holly is so suitable as a hedge plant. You can place them close to sidewalks without worrying that the roots will later lift the sidewalk slabs.
Transplanting Ilex outdoors
Ilex can be transplanted relatively well as long as the roots are not so large and extend too deep into the soil. It is more difficult to transplant an older holly into the garden. To avoid damaging the roots too much, you should proceed in two steps.
- Pick off lateral roots in spring
- dig a new planting hole in autumn
- Enrich soil with humus (€32.00 on Amazon) and horn shavings
- Dig up Ilex completely
- carefully place in the new planting hole
- Don't bend the main root!
- Earth tread carefully
- pour well
In spring, cut off the soil around the Ilex and thus the lateral roots. This gives the shrub the opportunity to establish new roots.
Dig up the Ilex completely in the fall. Now he doesn't mind so much if you cut off part of the lower root because you can't get it out of the ground. However, the main part of the heart root must be preserved and must not be damaged when moving.
Repotting Ilex in the bucket
If you care for Ilex in a pot, make sure that the pot is as deep as possible and wide enough. Only then can the root spread properly.
Drainage in the pot is definitely recommended, as the roots of the Ilex do not tolerate waterlogging at all. But they shouldn't dry out either, so you have to water them regularly.
The best time to repot Ilex in the pot is late spring.
Tip
Most Ilex varieties are hardy. However, this does not apply to the Japanese holly Ilex crenata. This is only partially winterproof and needs sufficient winter protection outdoors.