Holly, at least Ilex aquifolium and its cultivars, does not need acidic soil. In fact it grows happily on chalk. I know nothing about other species or hybrids. But I don't think it would like hot and dry conditions and it needs consistent moisture year round. It's a very common British native and that tells you the conditions it thrives in. Maybe next time you see one locally you could knock on the door and consult the gardener inside about how well it does?

you need to get a bit more specific on the name of the plant.. as the word holly is a huge family of plants ... you need two latin names ... as flora offers ...

if you could get pix of the ones you see locally .. you could ID them ... and be in a better position to understand if they will thrive for you ...

even better.. if you researched how to propagate them.. and could make exact duplicates of local heros ... presuming your local garden stores.. might not sell them ...

ken

Thanks, people. I suspect that a lot of the people around here wouldn't know the name of their hollies, might well only know them by a "common" name. I also suspect that they probably are ilex aquifolium. I also think I remember seeing one growing in a woods nearby! so maybe it would be good to go back there (haven't been to that area for years ) and see if I can find the plant,see if it has suckers, etc. Good idea to look up how to propagate, too! I did see two plants at out local garden center today, but both looked really bad, so i didn't get one. I suspect they've been sitting there for years in their pots, a-languishing...

If you see hollies in your region that appeal to you, ask someone which ones they are. Maybe go to a really good nursery. Heck, even take a few pics and post here and we'll try to ID them.

If I lived in zone 8, I would probably not grow any of the spiny hollies, but try to find those that have entire leaf margins. Who needs spines? Unless you like them of course!

Do they grow any of the Highclere hollies in Italy? You'll only be able to get what's available.

There are probably better adapted plants with a holly-like look, like Laurus nobilis.

"But I don't think it would like hot and dry conditions and it needs consistent moisture year round"

Actually various ecotypes of Ilex aquifolium range all the way over to the Caucasus and perhaps beyond, and thus through some drier areas. It's quite believable there are forms found, even outwith the mild, insubric Lakes region of Italy, that are perfectly happy there.

cf wikipedia:

Ilex aquifolium (holly, common holly, English holly, European holly, or occasionally Christmas holly), is a species of holly native to western and southern Europe, northwest Africa, and southwest Asia

What it truly cannot stand is quasi-tropical summer conditions and wet, dense soil; the roots get rot. This is why it isn't commonly grown in the US SE much beyond SE Virginia.* I had a plant die after a heavy rain spell one summer; the other surviving English hollies I have are on better drained sites. Not conditions that will happen in Italy at all...though, obviously, cultivars of "English" holly actually selected in England may not thrive there.

* - an arboretum in Charlotte, NC, for example, has tried grafting cultivars of English holly onto other species and grexes to remedy this

"If you see hollies in your region that appeal to you, ask someone which ones they are"

LOL - this is the best advice!

To identify and acquire suitable shrubs for your conditions look for any arboreta or botanic gardens with labeled collections, quality independent garden centers there may be in the region.

David and Embothrium, you certainly know a lot more about I aquifolium than I do. I'm just going on what I see here where it is a widespread and common native. I'm trying to remember if I've ever seen it in Italy but I don't think so. I agree that trying other broadleaf evergreens would be a good idea eg Laurus nobilis, Viburnum tinus, Pyracantha, Myrtle or even Citrus. The OP hasn't come back to say if s/he is absolutely fixed on holly or not.

Maybe not a LOT more. But I've read the whole Christopher Bailes/Susyn Andrews book Hollies for Gardeners...and they do know a lot more about hollies than any of us!

http://eprints.uniss.it/9327/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/52683828@N00/5062682716

Oooh, I guess I'm the OP! (I'm a "she", btw). I'm not fixed on holly at all,was just wondering, since I am looking around for dark green evergreens. I've gotten some laurus n. started, but some critter did nibble extensively; I guess I was thinking that common holly, with it's prickly, pointy leaves, might be less appealing to beasties. Citrus, and possibly myrtle, are out because my area is just too cold and exposed.

Do you know for sure that there are no citrus around? I would have thought that in the "foothills of the Appenines in Tuscany" at least the hardier sorts like Meyer Lemon or certain mandarins/satsumas etc. would grow. A residence where I stayed as a teen was in the hills near St. Paul de Vence, FR...looked to be at least 1000' above the Med. because they had an impressive if distant view of the water (and Sant Pau). That garden had a bunch of lemon and orange trees...granted I know that parts of the Cote d'Azur are more sheltered than central Italy. I guess it could depend on which side of the Appenines you are on...with the Po Valley facing side - north - being cooler. (As it obviously does for the location I visited! The main reason the extreme SE coast of France is much milder than the other parts like Marseille being the Alps and their blocking of cold air)

Obviously, anywhere along the Tuscan coast is mild enough for huge date palms l (until the palm bug gets them) and therefore various hardier citrus as well:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orto_botanico_di_Pisa

You could try Viburnum tinus which has variegated as well as green forms, Pyracantha (red, yellow or orange berries and thorns), various Cotoneasters or various Eleagnus, various Euonymus and various Prunus laurocerasus. All broad leaved evergreens. And do you have olives?

Thanks for the background info bart. Indeed that part of the world has a lot of microclimates; the book "The English Garden Abroad" documents, among other things, their discovery of these Mediterranean microclimates...that, for example, Kentias grew at Menton but not a few miles away on the coast. ( Menton is seemingly the mildest part of the coast from roughly Barcelona over to Rome.)

But a reason I asked involved my observation that outwith the UK - a nation with plenty of avowed experimenters and/or "serious" horticulturalists - cultural traditions often dictate what is grown in an area in favor of the reality of what could grow there. For example along the Basque coast of Spain, I saw very few citrus trees, but saw a few gardens, public and private, with a lot of them that were huge, obviously healthy and bearing. Too big to protect and in the case of the public gardens, who would hassle with that anyhow? Some of them can grow just fine there, but, because it isn't part of the cultural traditions of that area, they aren't widely grown at all.

But this is not to say I think you are incorrect! It's just explaining why I asked...

What is your elevation? Surely at least Neriums are common there in your town/neighborhood? (Oleanders)

My garden is in a woodland,far from my home,at about 600 meters above sea level. Oleanders certainly are grown around here,though they are far more abundant in the nearby city of Prato,which has a much more mild climate; there, you can even see bougainvileas being grown there, albeit only in extremely sheltered corners of houses. They'd never make it out on my property! But I would eventually like to try an oleander, maybe in one of the less exposed areas of my garden. Tea roses do fine for me.But I guess that if I ever really decided to push things, the warm-climate plant that would tempt me the most would be the jacaranda...SO beautiful!!!

Thanks. Bougainvilleas, even in sheltered sides of a building...are still pretty indicative of a no-worse-than 9a climate. And the city you mention, Prato, is pretty far inland but again, on the "warm" side of the mountains...compared to say, Bologna, which has an impressive all time low of -18.8C/-1.8F and nightly averages below freezing in winter. But I can imagine with a little bit of elevation it's back into zn 8a so yeah, edible citrus are out of the picture for permanent planting.

Yes, we're basically between Prato and Bologna,physically but also I think climatically, leaning however closer to the Bologna side in this latter respect. What's more, i've noticed that often the temperature out at my land,at least according to my car thermometer,is 2-3 degrees Celsius lower than that of the town.