Christmas greens add charm to season

Christmas greenery is a rich tradition throughout the world. All are familiar with the Christmas tree, but there are other types of Christmas greens that add to the charm of the season.

Some are exotic and must be imported, while others grow easily in our area.

The use of evergreens and other plants as Christmas decoration can be traced to pagan practices associated with the winter solstice, which occurs Dec. 22.

While I'm not promoting pagan rituals, it's possible to grow many Christmas greens in your landscape. If you want some to harvest each season, make note of those you like and include them in future plantings.

Holly — with its showy berries — is an excellent green that has been a popular Christmas green for centuries. The holly genus — Ilex — is one of the most diverse of the woody plants, with more than 400 species, and it is one of the few genuses of plant that can grow in all 50 states.

Choose your holly plants carefully, because very few species thrive in Utah. The traditional American and English hollies only grow under special conditions here and probably need more care than most gardeners are willing to give to them.

Holly plants are dioecious, which means male and female flowers form on separate plants — female plants produce berries and male plants do not. For Christmas berries, you must have both male and female plants, but most dwarf varieties produce few berries.

In Utah, the best hollies are collectively grouped into the Meserve hybrid hollies. This group includes the blue hollies, Blue Boy or Blue Girl. The blue color refers to the winter color of the foliage, which is a dark, blue-green color. These are winter hardy but struggle during hot, dry weather. Plant them on the north side of your home. China Girl and China Boy tolerate the heat better.

Don't overlook the many junipers that grow well in Utah landscapes. These have fragrant, green or silver-blue foliage. As an added bonus, they are often adorned with small blue berries. All are drought tolerant after they are established.

Ivy also has a strong association with Christmas. It is a vigorous vine in shady areas. Make certain you want it, as the vines are often destructive when they grow on walls or fences. Use the vine as greenery for holiday arrangements, but make certain to keep the cut ends in water or the foliage will quickly wilt.