Overview

Transform your outdoor space with a beautiful Nellie R Stevens Holly live plant. This popular evergreen shrub, scientifically known as Ilex x ‘Nellie R. Stevens’, is highly prized for its striking appearance and robust growth. Originating from a hybrid cross, the Nellie R Stevens Holly shrub features dense, glossy dark green foliage and produces an abundance of vibrant red berries, especially prominent in fall and winter. Cultivated for its classic pyramidal shape, it can serve as an elegant specimen plant, a privacy screen, or a lush hedge, adding structure and color to any landscape. This particular offering provides a young plant in a 2.5-inch pot, ready to establish in your garden.

Known for its rapid growth rate, the Nellie R Stevens Holly live plant is a fantastic choice for gardeners looking for a significant impact in a relatively short time. Its ability to thrive across a wide range of conditions makes it a versatile and rewarding addition to gardens in USDA Zones 6-9. The rich green leaves retain their color throughout the year, ensuring continuous visual appeal even in colder months, making it an excellent choice for an evergreen holly plant.

Key Benefits

The Nellie R Stevens Holly live plant offers numerous advantages to any garden. Its hardiness, beauty, and functional uses make it a standout choice among evergreen shrubs.

• Stunning Year-Round Interest: With its glossy, dark green leaves and abundant bright red berries, this holly provides continuous visual appeal throughout all seasons, including winter. The berries are particularly attractive to birds.
• Fast Growing & Pyramidal Shape: As a fast growing holly, it quickly establishes itself and develops a naturally elegant pyramidal form, often described as resembling a Christmas tree. This makes it ideal for creating natural focal points or structured hedges.
• Excellent for Privacy Screens & Hedges: Its dense foliage and considerable mature size (up to 30 feet tall and 15 feet wide) make the Nellie R Stevens Holly shrub an exceptional option for creating effective privacy screens, windbreaks, or property line definitions.
• Low Maintenance: Once established, this evergreen holly plant is relatively low maintenance, requiring minimal pruning to maintain its shape and health. It tolerates a range of soil types and urban conditions.
• Wildlife Attraction: The bright red berries not only add decorative value but also serve as a vital food source for various bird species during the colder months, enhancing biodiversity in your garden.
• Versatile Landscaping Use: Whether used as a standalone specimen, in mass plantings, or integrated into mixed borders, the adaptability of the Nellie R Stevens Holly live plant allows for creative landscaping designs.
• Drought Tolerant: While preferring consistent moisture, established Nellie R Stevens Holly plants exhibit good drought tolerance, making them resilient in various climates.

Plant Care & Growing Tips

Caring for your Nellie R Stevens Holly live plant is straightforward, ensuring a healthy and vibrant addition to your landscape. This resilient shrub thrives with proper attention to its basic needs. For optimal growth, plant your Nellie R Stevens Holly shrub in a location that receives full sun to partial shade. Full sun (at least 6 hours of direct sunlight daily) will encourage the densest foliage and the most abundant berry production, while partial shade is tolerable, especially in hotter climates.

When it comes to watering, consistent moisture is key, especially during the plant’s establishment period. Water deeply and regularly, ensuring the soil remains moist but not waterlogged. Once established, the evergreen holly plant becomes more drought-tolerant, but supplemental watering during prolonged dry spells will benefit its health and vigor. It prefers well-draining soil with a slightly acidic to neutral pH. Amend heavy clay soils with organic matter to improve drainage and aeration. Fertilize in early spring with a balanced, slow-release fertilizer formulated for evergreen shrubs to support its rapid growth and berry development.

The fast growing holly typically reaches a height of about 30 feet and spreads about 15 feet wide. Pruning can be done in late winter or early spring to shape the plant, remove any dead or diseased branches, or to control its size. Nellie R Stevens Holly is generally pest and disease resistant, but monitor for common issues like scale insects or leaf spot, especially in stressed plants. Its hardiness in USDA Zones 6-9 means it can withstand a good range of cold temperatures, making it a reliable choice for many regions.

Size & Details

You will receive one Nellie R Stevens Holly live plant, carefully packaged and shipped in a 2.5-inch pot. This young plant is ready for transplanting into your garden or a larger container upon arrival. The Nellie R Stevens Holly shrub is known for its impressive mature size, typically reaching a height of about 30 feet tall with a spread of approximately 15 feet at its base. It exhibits a distinct pyramidal shape, becoming narrower at the top, which gives it a classic Christmas tree silhouette. This vigorous growth habit makes it a popular choice for gardeners seeking a substantial and attractive evergreen.

The dark green, spiny leaves provide year-round color, beautifully contrasted by the round, bright red berries that adorn the plant from fall through winter. As a fast growing holly, it will establish quickly in your landscape. While it can be planted year-round, spring and fall are generally ideal for transplanting to allow the roots to establish before extreme temperatures. This plant is a long-lived and resilient addition, providing decades of beauty and functionality to your garden.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Q: How big does this Nellie R Stevens Holly live plant get? A: A mature Nellie R Stevens Holly shrub can reach an impressive height of up to 30 feet tall and spread approximately 15 feet wide, developing a beautiful pyramidal shape.
• Q: Is this an indoor or outdoor plant? A: This is an outdoor plant, primarily grown for landscaping. It thrives in garden settings and is suitable for USDA Zones 6-9.
• Q: How much sunlight does the Nellie R Stevens Holly need? A: For best growth and berry production, the Nellie R Stevens Holly live plant prefers full sun (at least 6 hours of direct sunlight daily), but it can also tolerate partial shade.
• Q: Is this plant easy to care for? A: Yes, once established, the Nellie R Stevens Holly shrub is considered low-maintenance. It’s quite resilient and tolerant of various conditions, making it a good choice for both experienced and novice gardeners.
• Q: What condition will the plant arrive in? A: You will receive one live plant in a 2.5-inch pot, carefully packed to ensure its safe arrival. It will be ready for planting.
• Q: When is the best time to plant a fast growing holly? A: While Nellie R Stevens Holly can be planted year-round in suitable climates, spring and fall are generally the best times to plant to allow the roots to establish well before extreme summer heat or winter cold.
• Q: Will this evergreen holly plant survive winter in my zone? A: This holly is hardy in USDA Zones 6-9, meaning it is well-suited to withstand the winter temperatures common in these regions.
• Q: How often should I water my new Nellie R Stevens Holly? A: During its establishment phase (the first year), water deeply and regularly to keep the soil consistently moist. Once established, it becomes more drought-tolerant but will benefit from watering during dry periods.
• Q: Does this plant produce berries? A: Yes, the Nellie R Stevens Holly live plant is known for its abundant production of bright red berries, which appear in fall and persist through winter, adding significant ornamental value.
• Q: Can I use a red berry holly for privacy? A: Absolutely! Given its dense foliage and significant mature size as a fast growing holly, it is an excellent choice for creating effective privacy screens and hedges.