Plant: Strongbox® Inkberry Holly
Holly · Ilex glabra 'ILEXFARROWTRACEY'
Size: 2 gal
Light
Bloom
Mature size
More about this plant
Strongbox is a compact inkberry holly that holds a broadly rounded, mounded form 2 to 3 feet tall and wide, keeping its green evergreen leaves right down to ground level. It is promoted as a native alternative to boxwood, with good resistance to disease, pests and winter damage as well as deer. White flowers open on old wood in spring, and black berries follow on this female plant when a compatible male inkberry is nearby. Give it part sun to full sun and average moisture in acidic soil, keep a shallow mulch layer, and prune in mid to late spring if needed.
- Full Sun
- Grows to 3 ft tall and 3 ft wide
- Blooms in spring
- Hardy in USDA zones 5-9
- Evergreen foliage
- Native plant
Plant description
Strongbox is a compact inkberry holly that holds a broadly rounded, mounded form 2 to 3 feet tall and wide, keeping its green evergreen leaves right down to ground level. It is promoted as a native alternative to boxwood, with good resistance to disease, pests and winter damage as well as deer. White flowers open on old wood in spring, and black berries follow on this female plant when a compatible male inkberry is nearby. Give it part sun to full sun and average moisture in acidic soil, keep a shallow mulch layer, and prune in mid to late spring if needed.
- Foliage
- Green evergreen foliage held year round and kept right down to ground level.
- Fruit
- Black berries develop on this female plant when a compatible male inkberry is present.
- Pruning
- Easy care. Keep a shallow 2 to 3 inch mulch layer and prune in mid to late spring if desired; it blooms on old wood.
- Native range
- Southeastern USA; coastal plain from Nova Scotia to Florida to Louisiana
