Ilex crenata 'Icoprins11' DARK GREEN

Many people mistake Japanese holly for English box thanks to its small, evergreen leaves. This resemblance was also the main reason why it was chosen to become the hardy substitute for true box which is dying in all Europe as well as in the UK. Japanese holly a versatile, evergreen, and almost maintenance-free plant available in many varieties offering different shapes and sizes.

DARK GREEN is a Japanese holly variety which says it all in a name. Evergreen, small, oval leaves are very dark green, handsome, and glossy, and appear along deep purple red stems. Being a female variety, it produces profusion of small, creamy white flowers in mid spring, followed by abundance of spherical, slightly poisonous, glossy, black berries if pollinated by a male variety from nearby.

It grows about 20-30 cm per year into a well-branched, bushy shrub almost 3m tall and a little less wide. Use it just like a box plant - in the same spot or a container, among other large-leaved, evergreen plants to which its delicate foliage will provide a great contrast, or - if you are patient - make a hedge out of it.

It can be pruned and clipped in almost any way from early spring by end July. Japanese holly is usually trouble-free, tolerates any soil apart from compacted (clay) and boggy, and can withstand summer dry spells once established. However, for best results and leaf colour grow it in medium fertile, moist but well-drained acid soil. Fully hardy to abt. -27°C (USDA zone 5b).

Last update: 17-12-2018