Nellie R. Stevens Holly Shrub Live Plant – 2.5 inch Pot, 6-12″ Tall Evergreen Hedge

Overview

Introduce lasting beauty and functionality to your garden with the Nellie R. Stevens Holly Shrub. This exceptional evergreen is a top choice for gardeners seeking a reliable, fast-growing solution for creating lush hedges, effective privacy screens, or elegant accent plants. Known for its vigorous growth and adaptability, this robust holly variety flourishes across a wide range of climates, making it a versatile addition to many landscapes. Unlike many deciduous plants, the Nellie R. Stevens Holly Shrub maintains its vibrant deep green foliage throughout the year, providing continuous visual interest even during the driest or coolest months. Its striking appearance and hardy nature ensure that your garden remains vibrant and inviting, offering both aesthetic appeal and practical benefits.

The Nellie R. Stevens Holly Shrub is celebrated for its ability to transform outdoor spaces with minimal effort. Whether you’re aiming to define boundaries, enhance seclusion, or simply add a touch of enduring greenery, this plant delivers. Its dense growth habit makes it an excellent candidate for formal or informal hedging, allowing you to sculpt your desired garden aesthetic. Embrace the ease of cultivating a plant that not only looks magnificent but also contributes to the ecological value of your outdoor sanctuary.

Key Benefits

The Nellie R. Stevens Holly Shrub offers a multitude of advantages for any gardener, combining aesthetic appeal with practical utility. Its impressive characteristics make it a standout choice for various landscaping needs, ensuring long-term satisfaction and beauty.

• Year-Round Evergreen Foliage: Enjoy lush, deep green leaves that remain vibrant throughout all seasons, providing continuous color and structure to your garden. This consistent greenery means your landscape looks alive and well-maintained no matter the time of year, offering a vital backdrop for other seasonal plants or standalone beauty.
• Fast-Growing Privacy Hedge: Achieve a dense and effective privacy screen quickly. This holly variety is known for its rapid growth, making it an ideal choice for establishing boundaries and enhancing seclusion in a shorter timeframe compared to many other hedging plants. Its ability to grow 2-3 feet per year ensures that your desired privacy is established efficiently.
• Drought Tolerance & Hardiness: Once established, the Nellie R. Stevens Holly Shrub is remarkably drought-tolerant and hardy, requiring minimal water and care. This makes it an excellent, low-maintenance option for busy gardeners or those in regions with water restrictions, ensuring your plant thrives without constant attention.
• Versatile Landscaping Use: Perfect for a variety of applications, including hedges, privacy screens, accent plants, or even as a small tree. Its adaptability allows it to be shaped and pruned to suit specific design needs, providing flexibility in how you integrate it into your garden layout. This versatility makes it a valuable asset for diverse garden styles.
• Attractive Red Berries: In winter, the plant produces an abundance of vibrant red berries, adding a festive splash of color and providing a crucial food source for local wildlife. These berries offer significant visual interest, particularly when other plants are dormant, making the Nellie R. Stevens Holly Shrub a focal point during colder months.
• Adaptable to Sun Conditions: Thrives in both full sun and partial shade, offering flexibility in placement within your garden. This broad tolerance means you can confidently plant it in various locations, ensuring successful growth and vibrant foliage regardless of the specific light conditions.
• Low Maintenance: Once established, this fast growing holly requires little upkeep. Its natural resilience to pests and diseases, coupled with its drought tolerance, means less time spent on maintenance and more time enjoying your beautiful garden.

Plant Care & Growing Tips

Caring for your Nellie R. Stevens Holly Shrub is straightforward, ensuring a healthy and thriving plant that enhances your landscape for years to come. This robust evergreen is known for its resilience, making it a favorite among gardeners of all experience levels. Proper initial care will set the stage for its long-term success, allowing it to become a magnificent feature in your garden.

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 per day) will encourage the densest growth and most abundant berry production, while partial shade (2-4 hours of direct sun, usually in the morning) is also well-tolerated. Ensure the soil is well-draining, as hollies do not like wet feet. A slightly acidic to neutral soil pH (5.5 to 7.0) is ideal. When planting, amend heavy clay soils with organic matter like compost to improve drainage and aeration. During the first year after planting, regular watering is crucial to establish a strong root system. Deeply water 2-3 times a week, ensuring the soil remains consistently moist but not waterlogged. Once established, this zone 6-9 holly plant becomes quite drought-tolerant, requiring less frequent watering, especially in cooler climates. Pruning can be done in late winter or early spring to maintain its desired shape and size, or to encourage a denser growth habit, which is particularly useful for an evergreen privacy hedge. Dead or damaged branches can be removed at any time.

Fertilize your Nellie R. Stevens Holly Shrub in early spring with a balanced, slow-release granular fertilizer formulated for evergreens. Follow the product instructions for application rates. Pests and diseases are generally not a major concern for this hardy plant, but occasional issues like scale insects or leaf spot can occur. Monitor your plant regularly and treat any problems promptly with appropriate organic or chemical controls. Protecting young plants from harsh winter winds in the colder parts of its hardiness zone can be beneficial. With these simple care practices, your Nellie R. Stevens Holly Shrub will flourish, providing beautiful evergreen foliage and a stunning display of red berries.

Size & Details

The Nellie R. Stevens Holly Shrub is a versatile plant that can adapt to various landscape roles depending on how it’s managed. This particular offering is a live plant, delivered in a 2.5-inch pot, with an initial height ranging from 6 to 12 inches tall. This size is ideal for planting and establishing a robust root system quickly. If left unpruned, this fast-growing evergreen can reach a mature height of 15-25 feet with a spread of 5-10 feet, making it an impressive specimen plant or a towering privacy screen. However, it responds very well to pruning, allowing you to maintain it at a desired height and width for hedges or accent plantings.

The growth rate of the Nellie R. Stevens Holly Shrub is typically 2-3 feet per year under ideal conditions, ensuring a relatively quick establishment of your desired landscape feature. It is hardy in USDA Zones 6-9, making it suitable for a wide range of climates. This plant is shipped as a healthy, well-rooted specimen, ready to be transplanted into your garden. Expect year-round visual interest from its glossy green leaves and vibrant red berries, which typically appear in fall and persist through winter, adding a cheerful touch to the colder months.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Q: How tall will the Nellie R. Stevens Holly Shrub get? A: If left unpruned, this holly can reach an impressive mature height of 15-25 feet. However, it can be easily maintained at a desired height and shape through regular pruning, making it adaptable for various garden designs, including a dense evergreen privacy hedge.
• Q: What kind of sunlight does this fast growing holly need? A: The Nellie R. Stevens Holly Shrub thrives in full sun to partial shade. For the best growth, densest foliage, and most abundant berry production, aim for at least 6 hours of direct sunlight daily.
• Q: How often should I water my new Nellie Stevens plant care? A: During its first year, water regularly and deeply, 2-3 times per week, to help establish a strong root system. Once established, it becomes quite drought-tolerant and will require less frequent watering, especially in cooler climates.
• Q: When is the best time to plant this zone 6-9 holly plant? A: The ideal planting times are during the spring or fall. These seasons offer moderate temperatures and consistent moisture, which are conducive to root establishment before the stress of extreme summer heat or winter cold.
• Q: Is the Nellie R. Stevens Holly Shrub deer resistant? A: While no plant is entirely deer-proof, hollies, including the Nellie R. Stevens, are generally considered to be deer-resistant. Their prickly leaves typically deter deer from browsing.
• Q: Will this plant produce berries? A: Yes, the Nellie R. Stevens Holly Shrub is known for producing abundant, vibrant red berries that persist through the winter, adding significant visual appeal. These berries are typically produced on mature female plants, and a male holly nearby (though not necessarily another Nellie R. Stevens) is usually needed for pollination.
• Q: Can I grow this holly in a container? A: While it can be grown in a large container when young, the Nellie R. Stevens Holly Shrub eventually grows quite large. For long-term health and growth, it is best suited for planting directly in the ground where its roots have ample space to spread.
• Q: What is the recommended soil type for this holly? A: This holly prefers well-draining soil with a slightly acidic to neutral pH (5.5 to 7.0). If you have heavy clay soil, amending it with organic matter will improve drainage and create a more hospitable environment for the roots.
• Q: How fast does the Nellie R. Stevens Holly Shrub grow? A: This is a fast growing holly, typically adding 2-3 feet of height per year under optimal growing conditions. This rapid growth makes it an excellent choice for quickly establishing a privacy screen or hedge.
• Q: Are the berries on the Nellie R. Stevens Holly Shrub edible? A: No, the berries of the Nellie R. Stevens Holly Shrub are not edible for humans and can cause mild stomach upset if ingested. They are primarily for ornamental value and provide food for birds.