What is this plant? (Buffalo, NY)?

Moved into a house in January, the snow melts and I have 2 plants, 8 feet apart, maybe 14 inches tall.



Evergreen, solid green leaves, foliage looks like a holly, woody stems, but Buffalo is a liminal zone 6- closer to a 5. We're 1/3 mile off of the Niagara, so we're a slightly warmer microclime.



Is it a holly, do you think? (Guessing, no pictures, sorry.)



I'm from a zone 4, but I did school in Philly, and this looks like a holly.

What is this plant? (Buffalo, NY)?
The only thing I can think of other than a holly is a mahonia. It is pretty easy to tell: if you cut the stems and the sap is yellow it is probably a mahonia. Also it should flower sometime soon (though it may have done it already) with clusters of small yellow flowers.



The only other thing would be a berberis but most of the ones I know of are deciduous.



Could well be a holly too from your description. I don't suppose there are any berries of any sort on it?
Reply:I'm growing some holly plants in my yard in semi-shade and I'm in zone 8. So it probably is holly it is a large family and some varieties are more heat tolerate than others.
Reply:Most likely Holly.
Reply:dont know