Wow! After all these years, I'm still uncovering better information on Ilex x 'Virginia'. OK, so it turns out in 1960, a botanist by the name of W.F. Kosar at the US National Arboretum in DC, crossed Ilex integra (female) with Ilex x altaclerensis 'Hodginsii' (a male). The seedlings resulting from this cross were raised in a bed at the Arboretum. In 1993, Gene Eisenbeiss at the Arboretum, named his pick-of-the-litter 'Scepter'. It was introduced by the Arboretum. It can be obtained from only a few holly nurseries. The bed of hollies from the cross has since been bulldozed over, but not before a batch of plants from this cross were shared with the Hampton Roads Agricultural Research and Extension Center, in Hampton Roads, Virginia. These were planted out and observed. One selection stood out for its form and fruit, and in 2009 it was named and introduced as Ilex x 'Virginia' by the 'Beautiful Gardens® Plant Introduction Program' in the state of Virginia. It has not been patented. It is being offered only by a small number of nurseries in the Mid-Atlantic is propagated primarily by one nursery. 'Virginia' looks very similar to 'Scepter' but is just a bit spinier. That's no reason not to grow it though. I would rate Ilex x 'Virginia' as a borderline 6b-7a plant in terms of hardiness. I've seen just a bit of tip dieback on a few branches after the last two winters in my 7a yard, whereas Scepter had no dieback. But Scepter had a bit of shelter from wind. Ilex x 'Virginia' - photo from 'Beautiful Gardens' website: http://www.beautifulgardens.org/plants/ilevir.html

Well, I will readily admit that I know next to nothing. That's why I came to humbly ask for help. Nidularium was really a guess after looking at what seems like hundreds of photos. Mostly because there is absolutely no hint of any spines or any coloration of red or pink at all and never has been. The characteristics of my plant: The pot it was in was 6 inches diameter, 4 inches tall. The leaf margins are completely smooth, no spines at all. Rounded tips. Medium green leaves with variable-width cream stripes the length of the leaf. No other coloring. Longest leaves are 8 inches, and leaves are consistently one inch wide with a slight taper to about 5/8 - 3/4 inch at the tip. Leaves are fairly stiff and sturdy. Feel thick but not to the thickness of a sanseveria, smooth and glossy. Thanks for you consideration and help. Here is a photo that shows the way the pups grow.

Captivator is one kind of spineless gooseberry. I think there are a few other names that are spineless as well. Nearly spineless cultivars have been developed, but the most popular cultivars, such as ÂWelcomeÂ, and ÂPixwell have short spines. Here's a tidbit I found on the web: One of the main goals of breeding is obtaining spineless gooseberry cultivars. The results of distant interspecific hybridization within genus Grossularia Mill. have been the most promising ones. In the result of crosses between European cultivars and derivatives of North-American species the following weak spiny and basically spineless cultivars have been obtained: Chernomor, Chernoslivovyi, Slaboshipovatyi 3, Shalun, Sirius, Yubilyar, Grossular, Serenada. Convergent crosses, backcross and inbreeding are considered to be the main up-to-date methods of breeding. The most promising parents and cross combinations have been selected out of the 6700 seedlings. Spineless cv. Chernoslivovyi seems to be the best donor for spinelessness. The analysis of spineless trait changes in ontogenesis has shown spiny seedlings predominance in the first year after seeds sowing. A significant increase of the share of seedlings with parents traits among hybrids from spineless and weak spiny cultivars is observed in the 2nd and 3rd years. Therefore a rigid discard of hybrids for spiny trait should not be made in the first year of vegetation. I've got a question for you: Would I be wasting my time growing and maturing seedlings from my Josta plant? They would be josta F2's, since they developed without any other currants or gooseberries around. What would you expect from such seedlings? BTW, the seeds lasted the whole winter in the ground, then sprouted under my josta plant, I'd say these are pretty hardy :) Could you arrive at another sort of 'josta' by crossing a spineless gooseberry with a red or white currant? I've always wondered about that. And why the true Josta had to be made with black currant? Ribes are very interesting eh?

Here is Ilex integra and some interesting integra hybrids in comparison. Most of these are spineless or nearly so. Many of these are more small trees than shrubs. A. Ilex integra B. Ilex x wandoensis (I. integra × I. cornuta) C. Ilex x 'Spartan' - Ilex rugosa × I. (integra × pernyi) D. Ilex x 'Virginia' (I. integra × I. × altaclerensis 'Hodginsii') E. Ilex x 'Cherry Bomb' (Ilex integra x I. 'Nellie Stevens') F. Ilex x 'Scepter' (I. integra × I. × altaclerensis 'Hodginsii')