Masses of flowers on holly - has anyone else noticed?

Yes, I actually noticed this morning that my neighbours holly is full of flowers.

Curious; do the holly flowers have a scent?

Obviously different climate here, but we do have a few hollies around, so I will try to take note. I think we are a few weeks behind bloom time here in the north.

One tree here that is beautiful in bloom, and has a heavenly scent is the mountain ash. I do pity those who have allergies though, we get an awful lot of pollen.

I've got a holly bush I bought about 20 years ago from the Eden Project. It has some flowers and berries every year, but this year it seems to be a mass of flowers.

Like looked at my holly a few minutes ago and yes mine has lots of flowers on which I have not noticed in previous years....must ask my gardener friend her opinion.

SusieB50, My holly tree is completely smothered in flowers - and yes, due to stress, I believe, as a lot of shrubs here didn't survive the winter. It never has any berries, though, so it's probably male - or there are no others (of the opposite sex) nearby.

Lots of holly flowers here too; hoping for glossy berries come Christmas.
Our horse chestnuts are in full bloom and look great. i collect conkers to put by the doors and windows. GD doesn't like spiders. It gives her great joy to collect a basket full and helps control her fears.

The elder flowers are just budding up so I'm keeping an eye on those too, ready to make some cordial in the next couple of weeks.

Maybe nature is reacting to the Summer heat and the winter cold with a bumper crop this year?

Last year’s drought has affected so many plants this year. My little apple tree and a youngish lilac have just one sprig of blossom each. The winter’s severe frosts have ruined a camellia which is in a very sheltered position.
The drought also killed most of my grass.

Well, it was certainly extremely hot and dry here last summer, SusieB50. Some of the mature rhododendrons I used to see on that walk actually died, and even the brambles looked very miserable.

Yes I commented to a friend the other day that I have never seen so many flowers on the holly trees nearby, also lilac is stunning this year . Maybe the cold winter , although my brother said that if a plant had been very stressed (hot dry summer) then the plant produces profuse flowers to reproduce in case it dies !

Should add, that signs in the park ask people to leave the conkers, since ‘they are an essential part of the diet of deer’. Gdcs always find plenty elsewhere, though, and have been known to take bagfuls to scatter in the park for the deer.

It was probably around the time of deer hoovering up conkers near the park gate, where there are a lot of HC trees, when dh actually saw one side of a big stag’s antlers fall off - it was huge and so heavy. I posted a pic here at the time.

My holly has flowers. Its twenty years old and never flowered!

Our Horsechestnuts have had the leaf disease for 20 years. Yes the leaves shrivel during the summer, but it hasn't affected the trees' growth nor the number of conkers they produce. They look very healthy this year. I need a team of boy scouts to clear the conkers this Autumn. Bring back Bob a Job!!

3dognight

Enjoy the horse chestnut trees while you can, the ones round about me are all dying slowly of some leaf disease.
Later on in the year the leaves will be frizzled and brown, and the conker cases and confers will be very poor.

A sad day for someone like me who still delights in collecting them!

We’ve noticed that for a good many years now around here, where there are lots of mature HC trees in our local park, but they still seem to be healthy and flourishing in spring, and are still producing plenty of conkers - much to the delight of visiting Gdcs in autumn!

I have a large variegated holly in the garden, and noticed that it’s covered in flowers this year. As it is a male plant, there will be no berries. I think the really cold snap we had may have had something to do with it.

I have two Holly balls in planters at the front of my house and yes I noticed they have more flowers than previously. I’ve now got to decide whether I let them grow with the resulting berries or trim them the keep the ball shape. I’d rather like to see the berries.

Yes, I have noticed them on my holly bush, grown unannounced from a berry dropped from a Christmas wreath about twenty years ago.

Mum said holly berried once every two years, maybe this year?

Buds on my holly

Conkers!

Cookers will be poor, I mean.

I will look out for flowers on holly.

Enjoy the horse chestnut trees while you can, the ones round about me are all dying slowly of some leaf disease.
Later on in the year the leaves will be frizzled and brown, and the conker cases and confers will be very poor.

A sad day for someone like me who still delights in collecting them!

I also haven't noticed the holly...but walking my puppy on the park last night the Horse chestnut trees were stunningly beautiful...never seen them look so splendid...

Not seen any holly recently on my walks, but we have two old tall Horsechestnut trees in the garden which are smothered in blossom. More than I have ever seen before. Goodness knows what that means apart from a ton of conkers to sweep up this Winter.