Yaupon Holly Tree, 3–6 ft

Texas has its own evergreen screen and it is better than the one you were sold. Yaupon holly is native, drought-proof, evergreen, and loaded with red berries by December. It takes shade, full sun, black clay, caliche and neglect. Our competitor will ship you a Nellie Stevens holly out of South Carolina. We will sell you the holly that was already here.

What actually ships

• 3-Gallon: 3 to 4 ft tall, upright female selection, container-grown
• 7-Gallon: 5 to 6 ft tall, upright female selection, container-grown
• 5-Pack Privacy Row: Five 3-gallon plants, 3 to 4 ft, matched for height within 6 in
• Root form: Container-grown, root ball intact
• Berries: Yaupon is dioecious. Only female plants fruit. We ship named female selections only and the cultivar is printed on the tag
• Shipped as: Upright in a corrugated carton, soil bagged at the collar

Mature size

• Height: 15 to 25 ft (upright forms)
• Spread: 8 to 12 ft
• Growth rate: Moderate, 1 to 2 ft per year
• Screening: At 6 to 8 ft on-center a row closes into a solid evergreen screen in about 4 years

Where it grows

• USDA zones: 7 to 10
• Texas planting window: October 15 to February 28
• Native status: True Texas native. Ilex vomitoria, native across East and Central Texas
• Soil: Anything, including poorly drained clay
• Sun: Full sun to fairly deep shade. One of very few natives that truly does both
• Water: Low once established

Texas care notes

• Spacing: 6 to 8 ft on-center for a screen, 12 ft as a specimen
• Berries: The berries are mildly toxic to people and pets in quantity. Birds eat them all winter
• Yaupon tea: The leaves are the only native North American caffeine source. Roast and steep them. The Latin name is a 300-year-old slander, it does not make you vomit

Ship window and your cancellation right

Field-grown Texas stock ships during the dormant season. Orders ship between October 15 and December 15, 2026, oldest order first. That is deliberate: Texas Arbor Day is the first Friday in November (November 6, 2026) because fall is when a tree should go in the ground here.

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.