Aquifoliaceae

Aquifoliaceae
Small-leaved evergreen hollies
The second group of
temperate hollies are the
small-leaved evergreen types.
Important members in this
group include:
Ilex crenata
Ilex glabra
Ilex vomitoria
Aquifoliaceae
Ilex crenata – Japanese holly
Japanese holly is a very
popular small-leaved
evergreen holly especially
in the northern part of
its hardiness zone.
It is also known as the
box-leaved holly because
of its fine evergreen leaf
texture and its common
use as a hedge.
Native to Japan, Korea
and China.
Aquifoliaceae
Ilex crenata – Japanese holly
Growth habit – A multibranched shrub with
dense evergreen leaves.
A rounded shrub if not
pruned. It is usually
grown under 5 feet tall,
but can reach 10 feet tall.
Aquifoliaceae
Ilex crenata – Japanese holly
Flowers – Small unisexual flowers
are produced on separate plants in
the spring. Flowers are white with
four petals.
Fruit – Fruits are dark black
drupes that are not very showy.
Aquifoliaceae
Ilex crenata – Japanese holly
Leaf – Alternate, simple and
evergreen. Leaf shape is elliptic
to oblong.
Leaf margin has shallow teeth
(crenate to serrulate).
Leaf shape is variable in the
cultivars.
Aquifoliaceae
Ilex crenata – Japanese holly
Leaf – The undersides of the
leaves have black dots (glands)
that can be very conspicuous on
some cultivars.
Aquifoliaceae
Ilex crenata – Japanese holly
Culture:
Full sun or partial shade.
An easy plant to grow in most
landscape sites that are welldrained. Plants do not do well
in wet sites.
Plants respond well to pruning.
Hardy in zones 8 to 5, but can
be short-lived where summers
are hot.
Aquifoliaceae
Ilex crenata – Japanese holly
Culture:
Plants prefer a slightly
acidic soil.
Leaf chlorosis can occur
in soils with high pH.
Aquifoliaceae
Ilex crenata – Japanese holly
Uses:
Japanese holly works well as a
formal clipped hedge.
Aquifoliaceae
Ilex crenata – Japanese holly
Uses:
Small-leaved Japanese holly
cultivars can be used as a
substitute for boxwood
(Buxus) in formal gardens,
where boxwood is difficult to
grow.
Aquifoliaceae
Ilex crenata – Japanese holly
Uses : It is common to see Japanese holly subjected to
cloud pruning in Japanese gardens.
Aquifoliaceae
Ilex crenata – Japanese holly
Cultivars:
There are many cultivars
listed for Japanese holly
(possibly over 500).
Aquifoliaceae
Ilex crenata – Japanese holly
Cultivars:
‘Helleri’ is a commonly planted
female Japanese holly.
It is a compact form (under 4
feet tall) with a dense branching
habit and small leaves.
Aquifoliaceae
Ilex crenata – Japanese holly
Cultivars:
‘Golden Helleri’ is a yellow leaf
form derived from a seedling
of ‘Helleri’.
Aquifoliaceae
Ilex crenata – Japanese holly
Cultivars:
‘Convexa’ is the standard convex, dark
green form. It is more winter hardy
than other Japanese holly cultivars
and is popular in northern landscapes.
Plants can grow up to 8 feet tall, but
they respond to pruning well.
Leaf is concave in shape.
Aquifoliaceae
Ilex crenata – Japanese holly
Cultivars:
‘Chesapeake’ is an upright
pyramidal female clone with
convex shiny green leaves.
It can grow 6 feet tall.
Aquifoliaceae
Ilex crenata – Japanese holly
Cultivars:
‘Hoogendorn’ is a low-growing, spreading
plant only growing two to three feet tall
and 4 feet wide. It is a male clone.
Aquifoliaceae
Ilex crenata – Japanese holly
Cultivars:
‘Hetzi’ is another female
clone with convex leaves
that is widely available.
‘Hetzi’ is a hybrid between
‘Convexa’ and ‘Rotundifolia’
selected in 1940.
The leaves, fruit and growth
habit are all larger than
‘Convexa’.
Aquifoliaceae
Ilex crenata – Japanese holly
Cultivars:
‘Drops of Gold’ is yellowleaved sport from ‘Hetzi’.
It is a rounded plant growing
to 4 feet tall.
Yellow color is better in the
full sun, but it can lose its
color in the summer heat.
Aquifoliaceae
Ilex crenata – Japanese holly
Cultivars:
‘Golden Gem’ is yellow-leaved
form growing as a rounded to
spreading plant to 4 feet tall.
Aquifoliaceae
Ilex crenata – Japanese holly
Cultivars:
‘Snowflake’ is an upright
pyramidal form with variegated
green and white leaves.
It can grow 6 or more feet tall.
Aquifoliaceae
Ilex crenata – Japanese holly
Cultivars:
‘Sky Pencil’ is becoming a
popular cultivar. It has a
fairly dense columnar form
and can grow 10 feet tall.
Aquifoliaceae
Ilex crenata – Japanese holly
Cultivars:
There are a number of slow
growing specialty forms like
‘Dwarf Pagoda’ that work well in
rock gardens with dwarf conifers
or they can be used for bonsai.
Plants grow 3 to 4 feet tall.
‘Dwarf
Pagoda’
Aquifoliaceae
Ilex crenata – Japanese holly
Cultivars:
‘Sunshine’ is a novel yellow
fruited form, but not nearly
as showy as hollies with red
fruit.
Aquifoliaceae
Ilex glabra – Inkberry
Inkberry is a small-leaved
evergreen holly useful as a
foundation plant, hedge, screen
or in mixed shrub plantings.
Native to Eastern North
America from Canada to Florida
and west to Texas.
Aquifoliaceae
Ilex glabra – Inkberry
Inkberry naturally occurs in wet
forested areas as an understory
plant where it forms colonies by
underground stolons.
Aquifoliaceae
Ilex glabra – Inkberry
Growth habit – Usually a
rounded upright, multi-branched
evergreen shrub.
It can become leggy with age.
Depending on the cultivar,
inkberry can be 4 to 8 feet tall.
Aquifoliaceae
Ilex glabra – Inkberry
Flower - Unisexual flowers are
produced on separate plants in the
spring. Flowers are white with six
petals produced in clusters of 1 to 3.
Fruit - Fruits are black drupes
that can be attractive on close
inspection.
Aquifoliaceae
Ilex glabra – Inkberry
Leaf – Alternate, simple and
evergreen. Leaf shape is
oblong to lanceolate.
Leaf margin may have a few
teeth at the tip.
Aquifoliaceae
Ilex glabra – Inkberry
Culture:
Full sun or partial shade.
Can be an easy plant to grow,
but prefers a moist soil with
a slightly acidic pH.
Hardy in zones 9 to 5.
Aquifoliaceae
Ilex glabra – Inkberry
Culture:
Inkberry tolerates pruning
and should be periodically
pruned.
Unattended plants tend to
lose lower leaves and become
“leggy” without pruning.
Aquifoliaceae
Ilex glabra – Inkberry
Culture:
Inkberry can be very
susceptible to black rot in
heavy soils that results in
stem die-back.
Cultivars also can vary in
their winter hardiness.
Aquifoliaceae
Ilex glabra – Inkberry
Cultivars: ‘Compacta’ was the first (1937) inkberry cultivar selected for its
dense, compact, rounded form. It is a female and will reach 5 feet tall with age.
‘Compacta’
Aquifoliaceae
Ilex glabra – Inkberry
Cultivars:
‘Densa’ was selected in 1939 as a
compact, rounded form growing to
6 feet tall. It is a female and also
shows good hardiness to zone 4.
Aquifoliaceae
Ilex glabra – Inkberry
Cultivars:
‘Shamrock’ is a popular cultivar
with a finer texture and dense
growth habit. It is a female.
Aquifoliaceae
Ilex glabra – Inkberry
Cultivars:
Nordic (‘Chamzin’)
was selected for
cold hardiness and
dark shiny foliage.
Aquifoliaceae
Ilex glabra – Inkberry
Cultivars:
‘Georgia Wine’ is a compact female
cultivar with dark green foliage.
The leaves turn burgundy in winter.
Aquifoliaceae
Ilex glabra – Inkberry
Cultivars:
‘Ivory Queen’ is a form
(leucocarpa) that produces
pink fruit that turns white
for the winter.
Plants are not as dense as
other cultivar selections and
grows to 8 feet tall.
Aquifoliaceae
Ilex vomitoria – Yaupon
Related species:
Yaupon is the third little-leaf
evergreen holly important
commercially.
Like inkberry, it is a North American
holly, but it is restricted to the
Southeastern U.S. and is only winter
hardy to zone 7.
Plants form an upright, irregularlyshaped large shrub or small tree
growing 15 to 20 feet tall.
The species name refers to the
native American use of the tea made
from the leaves to induce purging.
Aquifoliaceae
Ilex vomitoria – Yaupon
Flower: Male and female flowers
form in clusters at the nodes.
Each flower is white with four
petals and fragrant.
Fruit: Yaupon differs from
Japanese holly and inkberry in
producing red rather than black
fruit on female plants.
Aquifoliaceae
Ilex vomitoria – Yaupon
Leaves: Alternate, simple
leaves are oval to elongated
ovate. Usually tapering toward
the base.
Evergreen leaves are less than
2 inches long.
The leaf margin has shallow
teeth.
Aquifoliaceae
Ilex vomitoria – Yaupon
Culture:
Full sun or partial shade.
A very adaptable plant that
is tolerant of most
landscape sites.
Tolerates pruning well.
Hardy in zones 10 to 7.
Aquifoliaceae
Ilex vomitoria – Yaupon
Culture:
Yaupon has become very
popular in the Southeast,
where it is used as an
alternative for Japanese
holly and boxwood that often
suffer in the summer heat.
There are several slower
growing cultivars like ‘Nana’
that are pruned as hedges.
Aquifoliaceae
Ilex vomitoria – Yaupon
There are over 30 cultivars of
yaupon that vary in plant height,
shape and fruit color.
‘Pendula’ is an upright plant with
pendulous, weeping branches.
It is used in mixed shrub
borders or as a specimen plant.
‘Pendula’ can reach 20 feet tall.
Aquifoliaceae
Ilex vomitoria – Yaupon
Hoskin Shadow (‘Shadow’s Female)’ has
dark green leaves and bright red fruit.
‘Yawkey’ is an upright plant
selected for its yellow fruit.