# Sarvis Holly (Ilex amelanchier)

> A rare deciduous holly of southern swamps and stream banks, with soft, dull leaves and velvety rose-red berries that last into spring.

Also called serviceberry holly. Category: Native Shrubs. Grown from seed by Blue Whale Trees. Web version: https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/sarvis-holly/

## Facts

- Type: Small tree
- Mature height: 10 to 30 ft
- USDA hardiness zones: 7 to 10
- Grows wild in: Stream banks, floodplain forests, swamps and wet flats
- Native range: 7 states, north to North Carolina, south to Florida and west to Louisiana (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina and South Carolina)
- Sun: Part
- Soil moisture: Wet, Average
- Growth rate: Slow
- Traits: Rare, Wildlife value, Tolerates wet soil, Winter interest
- Sold as: Saplings, Seed

Heights and zones are typical ranges for the species in cultivation; local conditions and seed source shift them.

## Availability

Not yet priced online. Ask at captain@bluewhaletrees.com or leave an email on the web page to be told when it is listed.

## Notes

Sarvis holly is a deciduous holly of the southern Coastal Plain, from southeastern North Carolina to the Florida Panhandle and Louisiana. It grows along blackwater rivers, in floodplain swamps, on seepy stream banks and around sandhill ponds. Its dull, soft-haired leaves and velvety rose-red berries set it apart from other hollies, and its name likens it to the serviceberries. Florida lists it as threatened, and NatureServe ranks it imperiled in four of its seven states. Plant it in a rain garden or at the wet edge of a pond, where the fruit hangs on through winter.

## Size, growth and what to expect

Sarvis holly grows slowly, about a foot a year in our growth estimator. It makes a large shrub or small tree, usually under 15 feet but up to 30, and 10 to 15 feet wide. Its dull green leaves, up to 4 inches long, are soft and densely hairy beneath, and the smooth bark is grayish brown.

Small, fragrant, greenish-white flowers open in April and May in clusters along the twigs. On female trees, pea-sized berries ripen a dull, velvety rose red from late summer into fall, and they can last into the next spring. Birds eat them, and bees visit the flowers, including one that specializes in hollies.

It grows wild on the Coastal Plain from southeastern North Carolina to the Florida Panhandle and west to Louisiana. Its home is blackwater river floodplains, seepy stream banks, sandy swamps, the edges of sandhill ponds and clay-based Carolina bays. Forestry and the ditching, draining or damming of its wetlands threaten it.

## How to grow Sarvis Holly

Sarvis holly grows best in part shade, in a moist to wet, acid soil of sand, loam or clay. It takes flooding well and has some tolerance for drought. Plant it 15 feet from a wall and 15 feet from overhead wires, since some reach 30 feet. Set plants 10 feet apart.

Saplings ship bare-root or potted. Plant them dormant, from leaf fall until bud swell, in a hole wider than the roots and no deeper. Set the root flare at the soil line, put the native soil back in, and keep the mulch clear of the stems. Holly seed is slow to sprout. Sow cleaned seed outdoors in fall, a quarter inch deep under mulch, and expect seedlings in the second or third spring. For a spring sowing, keep it damp at room temperature for one to two months and then in the refrigerator for two to three months.

Water weekly through the first two summers unless the ground stays wet. It flowers on the season's new growth, so shape it in late winter if it needs pruning.

Trees are male or female, and only females bear the red fruit, so plant three or more seedlings for a male and a female. It is slow to reach maturity but long-lived once established. No disease or insect pest is known to trouble it. Eating the berries can make a person mildly ill.

## Sources

- [NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox: Ilex amelanchier](https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/ilex-amelanchier/)
- [Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: Ilex amelanchier, Sarvis Holly, Swamp Holly](https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=ILAM2)
- [Florida Natural Areas Inventory: Serviceberry Holly field guide, May 2026](https://www.fnai.org/PDFs/FieldGuides/Ilex_amelanchier.pdf)
- [NatureServe Explorer: Ilex amelanchier, Serviceberry Holly](https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.145246/Ilex_amelanchier)
- [USDA Forest Service, Woody Plant Seed Manual (2008), Ilex chapter](https://www.fs.usda.gov/nsl/Wpsm/Ilex.pdf)
- [USDA NRCS PLANTS Database: Ilex amelanchier, ILAM2](https://plants.usda.gov/plant-profile/ILAM2)
- [Virginia Tech Dendrology: sarvis holly, Ilex amelanchier](https://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=798)
- [Fowler and Droege 2020, Pollen Specialist Bees of the Eastern United States](https://www.jarrodfowler.com/specialist_bees.html)
- [Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Georgia Biodiversity Portal: Ilex amelanchier, Serviceberry Holly](https://georgiabiodiversity.org/portal/profile?group=plants&es_id=20455)

## Read before planting

- [Ten planting mistakes that quietly kill trees](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/ten-planting-mistakes/index.html.md)
- [Transplanting young trees: timing, water and protection](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/transplanting-young-trees/index.html.md)
- [Protecting young trees from voles, rabbits, deer and squirrels](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/protecting-trees-from-animals/index.html.md)
- [Multistem or single stem? Sometimes the trunk is hiding the answer](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/multistem-or-single-stem/index.html.md)
- [Leaf litter, not wood chips, under the canopy](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/leaf-litter-not-wood-chips/index.html.md)
- [Native trees and shrubs for butterflies and moths: host plants first, nectar second](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/native-trees-for-butterflies-and-moths/index.html.md)

## Related

- [Planting-site check](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/site-check/index.html.md): for a thrive, struggle or fail verdict on Sarvis Holly, add ?species=sarvis-holly with zone (2 to 10), sun (full, part, shade) and moisture (dry, average, wet) to that address, for example ?species=sarvis-holly&zone=7&sun=part&moisture=average.
- [Companion species for Sarvis Holly](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=sarvis-holly): the natives that share its ground and the plants that pair with it in a yard.
- [Growth estimator](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/index.html.md): how the height and trunk projections are made; the estimate itself runs in the browser at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/#species=sarvis-holly
- [Seed sowing planner](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/index.html.md): how Sarvis Holly is sown, in the chart for every species (treatment, cold days, depth, timing); the dated plan runs in the browser at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/#species=sarvis-holly
- [Pollination planner](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/index.html.md): what Sarvis Holly needs for a crop and how many to plant, in the table for every species; the planner runs in the browser at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/#plants=sarvis-holly:3
- [Bloom and fruit calendar](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/index.html.md): the months Sarvis Holly flowers and fruits, in the grid for every species.