Ilex x meserveae 'LITTLE STRANGER' blue holly, Meserve holly - male

Little Stranger is a rare, compact growing blue holly variety from Germany. It is an upright, slow growing shrub with evergreen foliage. Leaves are very dark green, narrowly lance-shaped, almost spineless or just gently serrated at margins, and very glossy. As a male variety it has no fruit but is an ideal pollinator for many female hollies (not just blue hollies) to produce berries in autumn.

It forms compact, dense, and columnar shrubs which do not need pruning to look good. Still, it can be pruned in any way. Little Stranger can be used in evergreen hedges as well as in small gardens where other hollies would not fit with their spreading habit. It was discovered by Hans-Georg Buchtmann (*1937) from Varel, a holly lover who had 400 species and varieties in his garden. When his own plot was not enough he rented a neighbouring property and continued growing.

Meserveae hollies are called “blue hollies” thanks to the shade of the species leaves that are dark green with bluish tint, especially in cold months. And the name meserveae was chosen for its cultivator, Kathleen Meserve, who, literally on her windowsill, made a cross of ilex rugosa and ilex aquifolium in 1950's in an effort to achieve excellent cold hardiness on a fabulously foliaged evergreen plant. She died in 1999 at the age of 93 but left behind an impressive line of these evergreen, superbly hardy varieties.

Blue holly needs almost no maintenance if you provide them with acid, fertile soil at the beginning, and enough moisture for the first couple of years before its extensive root system is established. Avoid heavy clay sites. Pruning is not needed as it forms a compact shrub on its own, but you can shape it in early spring or in midsummer. Sunny or part shaded location is best, however, it will grow in full shade, too, where it may lose its compact habit. Blue hollies are also renowned for their hardiness: this one has not yet been tested under all conditions but is expected to survive at least -29 °C (USDA zone 5), possibly yet a few degrees lower. It is suitable for large outdoor pots – hollies don’t like congested space.

Last update 08-01-2021.