Thanks for the info! So I am to assume if a shrub has berries, it is female, and one with no berries is male. But....what if the berries have fallen off/been eaten? Should I be able to find small stems that once held berries? I am looking at a few shrubs at a local home center's garden section and want to make sure I get the right ones.

At a garden center, the plants should be clearly labeled. For instance, "Blue Prince" is a male, and "Blue Princess" is a female. Similarly for "China Boy" and "China Girl" hollies. This time of year, none of them should have berries (yet). The berry set happens towards the end of the growing season.

These are often sold in combo in better nurseries, with both the female and male plants in the same pot so you know you will have successful pollination for berry production. But if sold individually they should be labled and you can tell gender that way.

Thanks, gardengal! I think you nailed it...both Wal-Mart and Menards have them, and neither of their tags say anything about needing another for pollination.

My understanding was that female hollies that are not pollinated will have flowers but no berries. So the presence of berries is not the way to determine their sex (gender?).

If berries are present, that is an excellent way to determine gender!! Holly plants with berries present are obviously female. The confusion may be with the flowers.......both male and female plants will flower, but only fertilized female flowers will produce berries from those flowers.

Yes gg but absence of berries does not necessarily mean female!

But that's not what was written - "So the presence of berries is not the way to determine their sex". The presence of berries IS the way to determine the sex!! If you meant absence, that is different and not what was written :-)