Nellie Stevens Holly

Ilex aquifolium Nellie Stevens, known as Nellie Stevens Holly, grows well as a bush or a single-stemmed tree.

An American female clone bred in the 1900s, it is a cross between Ilex aquifolium and Ilex cornuta. Its lustrous green glossy leaves are smoother than spikey, and its orange/red berries are great for birds in the autumn.

Ilex aquifolium Nellie Stevens thrives on free-draining soils, and being evergreen, it is an ideal feature for screening trees for gardens.

Medium pleached trees have a 1.8m clear stem and are trained onto a flat frame which measures approximately 1m high x 1m wide.

Trees trained in this way will require regular maintenance to prune back and tie any loose branches back onto the frames. Pleached panels can be extremely effective for improving privacy in small urban gardens, and like any pleached tree, have the benefit of doing this without reducing the living space in the garden.

Common names

Nellie Stevens Holly

Height of tree

3-7m

Tree type

Evergreen

Soil type

Well drainedWill tolerate most soil types

Shape

Pleached

Blossom Colour

White

Foliage Colour

Green

Looks good in

Winter

Privacy

Screening from ground level

Location

Garden

Genus

Ilex