Catalog Description
One of the most attractive of all hollies. Vigorous grower with dense branches, it makes an excellent tall screen. Bears abundant, large, bright orange-red berries that add dashes of color to the lustrous, dark evergreen foliage. Creates an impressive statement in the landscape when planted in groups, used as a large background plant or specimen. Male Chinese hollies are useful planted nearby as pollenizers. Full to partial sun. Evergreen. Strong growth 15 to 20 feet tall and 10 feet wide. |
Design Ideas
A vigorous grower, this Holly`s huge proportions place it in the tree category, either shaped into a spreading semiformal canopy or encouraged to grow vertical as a specimen. Line up several for a durable evergreen windbreak. Both prickly and dense, it`s a security barrier and privacy screen. Produces berries if provided a male Chinese Holly.
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Companion Plants
Plant this Holly with a variety of male Chinese Holly for berries.
Works well with warm-winter evergreen flowering shrubs such as the sizable pink SpringtimeTM Indian Hawthorn (Raphiolepis indica `Monme`) or the peachy Turner`s Tickled PinkTM Oleander (Nerium oleander `Turner`s Tickled Pink`).
Makes a good foundation plant when played off the Crimson Wonder Rose Mallow (Hibiscus moscheutos `Crimson Wonder`) and Green-Leaved Euryops (Euryops pectinatus `Viridis`) for bright yellow highlights.
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Average Landscape Size
Fast grower to 15 to 20 ft. tall, 10 ft. wide. |
Key Plant Benefits
One of the most attractive of all hollies. Vigorous grower with dense branches makes an excellent tall screen. Producer of large bright orange-red berries. Use male Chinese hollies as pollenizers. |
Care Instructions
Follow a regular watering schedule during the first growing season to establish a deep, extensive root system. Feed with a general purpose fertilizer before new growth begins in spring. For a tidy, neat appearance, shear annually to shape. |
Growth Conditions
| Growth Rate |
 Fast Growing |
| Growth Habit |
| Pyramidal |
| Heat Zones |
High:
| 9 (>120 to 150 days) |
| Low: | 3 (>7 to 14 days) |
| Cold Hardiness |
| High: | 9 (20 to 30 F) (see map) |
| Low: | 6 (-10 to 0 F) |
| Water Requirements |
| Water regularly, when top 3 in. of soil is dry. |
| Sun Exposure |
| Full to partial sun |
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Flowering
Flower or Bloom description:
Small, cup-shaped
| Flower Color |
| White |
| Flowering Time/Season |
| Tiny cream colored flowers in spring. |
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Propagation
| Propagation Method |
1
| Cutting grown |
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Attributes
Attractive Fruit |
Foliage
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Plant Lore
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Plant History
This and all of the hollies fall under the Aquifoliaceae family. This genus was classified by Linnaeus to hold the European species that have been cultivated since ancient times, valued as one of the few evergreens in colder climates. Genus Ilex contains about 400 species native to the Americas, Europe and Asia. This east-west 20th century hybrid is derived from two important species: I. aquifolium and I. cornuta. The European holly for which Linnaeus created this genus is I. aquifolium, which is also native to North Africa and Western Asia. It contributes cold hardiness to this hybrid. I. cornuta is Chinese holly from eastern Asia which bears much larger, lush foliage and prominent berries. Nellie R. Stevens is a female plant which is matched by a male of the same lineage, I. x ‘Edward J. Stevens’ |
New Plant
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