Holly Oak hybridizes freely with other members of the genus. It succeeds in most soils except poorly drained. The tree prefers a good deep fertile loam soil and thrives on shallow chalky soils. Holly oak fruits very freely. Acorns ripen in their first year and reach up to 4cm in length. They are eaten raw or cooked. They can be sweet or bitter.

The sub-species Q.ilex ballota is cultivated for the sweet and edible nut. Acorns can be dried and ground into a powder to be mixed with flour from cereals. The nuts from some trees contain bitter substances called tannins. These are removed by leaching. One traditional method is to place the acorns in bag and place them in a stream for several days.

Propagation is by seeds. They lose viability if it is allowed to dry out. It can be stored moist and cool over winter but is best sown as soon as it is ripe in an outdoor seed bed. Young plants tolerate reasonable levels of side shade and are very tolerant of maritime exposure. They must be plant into their permanent position in their first year.

holy oak

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Holly Oak – quercus ilex is a post from: Fruit and Nut Trees