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Mid-Atlantic Gardening

Nellie Stevens Hollies in Zone 6B?

9 years ago

I am looking for a relatively fast growing evergreen tree/shrub as a screen. It would need to be fairly shade tolerant and grow to at least 15-20 feet. Nellie Stevens hollies seem to be the closest I have found in my research. Does anyone have experience with them near to our area (Hagerstown, MD), or have an alternative?

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Comments (5)

Dave in NoVA • N. Virginia • zone 7A
9 years ago
Do you see any undamaged Nellie Stevens hollies around? They should be OK in 6B, but not sure. Are deer a problem in your area?
madammim
9 years ago
I have one in the Boonsboro area. Maybe 15 years old and 15+ feet tall. We lost a good number of leaves to the extreme winter, but new ones are replacing them. Doesn't seem to be susceptible to holly leaf miner.
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Have you considered a smaller and slower growing cultivar of Holly. I'm not sure about your spacing concerns but I can tell you that NS is an extremely attractive, vigorous, and relatively fast growing variety. Of all the hollies I have, it also is producing the most berries (not sure if you need both genders for this one form berries--I've only got one NS). One more thing, I believe that holly roots tend to be close to the surface so this may be an issue as well. Good luck!
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Looks like a 'canker'. Although not common, they appear in the spring when it is moist/humid, sunny, and 40-50 degree days. Cut out affected stems, destroy stems and remove ANY debris. Disinfect your tools in a 10% alcohol solution after using any time so you don't spread the infection. Sanitary procedures are the only method of control.
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We had a very wet, heavy 8" snowfall here in VA in March. I had just paid a fortune to get my hollies pruned and the weight of the snow threatened to snap several limbs. My *brilliant* solution was to go out several times and beat the snow off the hollies with a long pole. This resulted in so many cracked leaves and broken laterals, they looked as though they were all diseased a few weeks later. Upon closer inspection, they were fine-- just abused. Your photo looks like my poor hollies. If you want confirmation, I suggest taking some clippings to your local garden center or extension service (not big box retailer garden dept) If the extension dudes don't know, they will find the answer for you.
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There are dwarf cultivars of the American, but I know zero about them. I do know the Nelly can grow 3-5 feet per year and saw some absolutely gigantic ones in town. I had even found an Edward male for her....hard to come by. I checked around here a few times for American holly and all folks could do is either get something called green leaf (I think that was it) or recommend Savannah instead. I sure could just move the hollies I already have, but thinking they will just be too darn big and limit the diversity I can have due to them taking up so much room. I was hoping to use the 3 Brodies in a grouping, since they'd make for some great cover, host the juniper hairstreak and, among others, attract cedar waxwings.
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agardenstateof_mind
9 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
They usually are fine here in coastal NJ, zone 7A, but we've seen moderate to severe damage on these hollies after these past two harsh winters. They are putting out new leaves, however, and should be fine.
cyn427 (z. 7, N. VA)
8 years ago
Mine in Alexandria, VA is fine and we are not that far from you.
sequoiadendron_4
8 years ago
I have 3 Nellie Stevens in the Lancaster PA area and the last two winters have been very hard on them. Like the others said, new leaves are replacing damaged ones. I would hardly call this plant 'relatively fast growing' though. Ours have experienced about 6" of growth the last couple springs. Why don't you look to planting the native Ilex opaca? The one I have is faster growing than the NS. Plus it holds up better in the winter.

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