Green Lustre Japanese Holly
Ilex crenata 'Green Lustre'
Height: 4 feet
Spread: 8 feet
Sunlight:
Hardiness Zone: 4b
Other Names: Box-leaved Holly
Description:
A handsome, low growing shrub producing dark green, glossy oval foliage; dense and mounding with a wider spread; hardier than many of the species; inconspicuous flowers followed by black fruit in winter; great foundation plant or hedge
Ornamental Features
Green Lustre Japanese Holly is primarily grown for its highly ornamental fruit. It features an abundance of magnificent black berries in mid fall. It has attractive dark green evergreen foliage which emerges light green in spring. The glossy oval leaves are highly ornamental and remain dark green throughout the winter.
Landscape Attributes
Green Lustre Japanese Holly is a dense multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with a mounded form. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.
This is a relatively low maintenance shrub, and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. It is a good choice for attracting birds and bees to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.
Green Lustre Japanese Holly is recommended for the following landscape applications;
Planting & Growing
Green Lustre Japanese Holly will grow to be about 4 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 8 feet. It has a low canopy. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 50 years or more.
This shrub does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers to grow in moist to wet soil, and will even tolerate some standing water. It is particular about its soil conditions, with a strong preference for rich, acidic soils. It is quite intolerant of urban pollution, therefore inner city or urban streetside plantings are best avoided, and will benefit from being planted in a relatively sheltered location. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.
