Generally, the best way to get more plants is to grow them from seed or to propagate them from a cutting. The next best thing to do is bite the bullet and pony up for some new plants from a nursery. Sometimes that purchasing decision is made hastily…
So, in my haste to secure plants that can fuel me with caffeine in the case of a tariff war between Colombia and the US, I bought two arabica coffee (Coffea arabica and Coffea arabic “Mocha”) plants and a tea plant (Camellia sinensis) from Logee’s. I also watched a video about their Ponderosa Lemon tree. I have a feeling I’m about to get deep into citrus.
Unfortunately, the coffee plants are only hardy down to Zone 10 and I’m in zone 8. So I’m going to need to keep those indoors in the winter. The tea plant is actually hardy to zone 8, so I got lucky on that one. However, today I learned that Yerba Mate is from a variety of holly tree. I was like dang, there’s a ton of holly trees in my yard. I wonder if I should have gotten a yerba mate plant to get my caffeine security?
Useful Holly Trees
Well, I came to find that Yerba Mate (Ilex paraguariensis) plants are similarly tropical to coffee plants. They need to be in Zone 10+. But there is a related tree called a Yaupon Holly (Ilex vomitoria) that is native to the Southeast US! It seems to stop in Virginia, but I live in Southern Maryland. This is actually south of a large portion of Virginia (Maryland is quite possibly the most convolutingly shaped state). My task tomorrow will be to look at the holly trees in my neighborhood and see if I can identify any Yaupon Holly trees. Then I’ll check out my local plant nurseries to see if they have it. Luckily, I’ve been looking to get native trees and shrubs with red berries to replace my invasive nandina plants.
Additionally, there is another holly variety called Dahoon Holly (Ilex cassine) that is hardy to zone 7. It is closely related to the Yaupon Holly, but the Dahoon Holly has less caffeine in its leaves and twigs. So, I think I’m going to stick with Yaupon.