Possumhaw Holly, 3–6 ft

Nine months of the year it is a quiet green small tree you would not photograph. Then the leaves drop and it lights up: a bare silver-grey framework loaded with scarlet berries, standing there all winter while every other thing in the yard is asleep. Native, tough, and the best winter-interest tree in Texas. Only females fruit, so we ship females.

What actually ships

• 3-Gallon: 3 to 4 ft tall, container-grown, named female selection
• 7-Gallon: 4 to 6 ft tall, container-grown, named female selection
• Root form: Container-grown, root ball intact
• Berries: Possumhaw is dioecious. We ship named female selections only and the cultivar is on the tag. Expect a light first-year berry set and a real display in year two or three
• Shipped as: Ships leafless during the dormant window. A bare possumhaw in a box is a healthy possumhaw, not a dead one. Scratch the bark, green means alive

Mature size

• Height: 12 to 20 ft
• Spread: 12 to 15 ft
• Growth rate: Moderate, 1 to 2 ft per year
• Winter display: Berries hold from November until the cedar waxwings strip them, usually late February

Where it grows

• USDA zones: 5 to 9
• Texas planting window: November 1 to February 28
• Native status: True Texas native. Ilex decidua, native across East, Central and North Texas
• Soil: Wide range, including heavy clay and seasonally wet ground
• Sun: Full sun for the heaviest berry set. It survives shade and fruits poorly in it
• Water: Low once established

Texas care notes

• Spacing: 12 to 15 ft
• Placement: Plant it where you see it from a kitchen window in January. That is the entire point of this tree
• Berries: Mildly toxic to people and pets in quantity

Ship window and your cancellation right

Ships during the dormant season. Orders ship between November 1, 2026 and January 31, 2027. This species resents being moved while it is pushing growth, so we hold it until it is fully dormant.

If we cannot ship inside that window we will email you before it closes with a revised date and a one-click cancel link. If the new date is 30 days or less past the original, you can wait or cancel, your choice. If we need more than 30 days, your order is cancelled and refunded automatically unless you tell us to hold it. Refunds go back to your original card within 7 business days. This is the FTC Mail Order Rule (16 CFR Part 435) and we would rather you use it than be surprised.

The spec is the promise

Measure your tree against the "What actually ships" numbers above on the day it arrives. If it misses the spec, photograph it and we refund you in full and you keep the tree. We are not going to send you a stick and a photograph of somebody else's oak.

About this image: our product photography is an illustrative rendering of a mature, well-grown specimen of this species. It is not a photograph of the individual plant you will receive. The written "What actually ships" spec above is the binding description of your tree.