Images Depict Mature Plants
Dragon Lady Holly
Ilex x aquipernyi "Meschick"
Perfect for instilling privacy into your landscape, the Dragon Lady Holly offers majestic beauty and vibrant color to a landscape all year long! Bold red berries are the cherry on top of this perfect evergreen shrub.
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Dragon Lady Holly Trees (ilex x aquipernyi) are evergreen holly trees that grow in a narrow and pyramidal shape with no pruning necessary.
The plant's dark green foliage glistens beautifully in the sun and easily blends into any landscape design. The stunning female plant can also produce bright red berries if placed next to a male pollinator such as Blue Prince Holly.
Caring for a Holly Tree is incredibly simple. Ideal conditions for these gorgeous landscape trees include full sun and slightly acidic soils. These trees will also thrive best in well-drained soils.
These trees are relatively hardy and can tolerate afternoon shade conditions and unidyllic soil mediums. If cared for properly, the Dragon Lady Hollies can grow up to 20 feet tall at maturity! Despite their towering heights, these trees are great for small spaces because they typically only get about 4 to 5 feet wide.
The specimen tree's narrow and tall growth habit makes it perfect for adding height and vertical elements to a yard. Additionally, these Holly trees make for great privacy screens and hedging. As a bonus, the Dragon Ladies attract birds who love to snack on its berries. Plant a Dragon Lady Holly, and your yard will quickly become a wildlife haven!
| Hardiness Zone: | 6-8 |
|---|---|
| Mature Height: | 15 to 20 feet |
| Mature Width: | 4 to 6 feet |
| Sunlight: | Full Sun to part shade |
| Foliage Color: | Dark Green |
| Growth Form: | Upright pyramidal |
| Soil: | Very tolerant of most soil conditions |
How to Care for Dragon Lady Holly
Be sure to read about the recommended care instructions to keep this plant healthy and thriving!
How Do I Plant My Dragon Lady Holly Tree?
Never plant Dragon Lady Holly deeper than the original pot. Before adding new mulch, you should still see the soil from the original pot. Planting too deep can cause rotting of the stem and death to the tree. Dragon Lady Holly trees are moderately drought tolerant. However, they grow very slow without adequate water. Staking young trees is recommended to minimize the stress on the stem from winds blowing the tree. Dragon Lady Holly can also be in clusters in corners of the garden or hide smaller permanent fixtures in the garden, such as well caps or utility boxes. Clusters can be used at the ends of shrub borders or even in the middle to bring symmetry or vertical elements into the garden.
How Do I Fertilize My Dragon Lady Holly Tree?
We recommend using Bio-tone starter fertilizer by Espoma. Mix the recommended amount of Bio-tone into the backfill soil and water generously. Bio-tone® Starter Plus is an all-natural plant food combined with a potent concentration of beneficial bacteria, along with both endo and ectomycorrhizae. The “good” fungus in Bio-tone colonizes the growing roots of your newly planted plant and does not allow the disease-causing fungus to attack the new root system. After establishment and during the following years, we recommend Holly-tone used at the recommended rates. It is also organic and slow-release, which will feed your trees the proper amount of nutrients over a period rather than all at once, which can burn the root tips and have the opposite effect of slowing down plant growth.
What Kind of Soil Does My Dragon Lady Holly Tree Require?
Dragon Lady Holly trees grow well in a wide range of soils, ranging from all sand to pure red clay. When planting in very sandy soils adding organic matter is always recommended to improve the ability to hold water and nutrients. When planting in hard clay soils, it's best to dig the hole several feet wider than the root system and fill it with soft loam soil to give the young Dragon Lady Holly tree a faster, more aggressive root system. Dragon Lady Holly prefers well-drained soils but will tolerate wet soils for short periods. Dragon Lady Holly should never be in soils that are excessively wet for long periods. Since Dragon Lady Holly has a shallow root system, weeds and grass growing around the tree will cause the tree to grow much slower until established. Mulching will improve your growth threefold. Mulch not only stops weeds and grass, but it will also hold soil moisture and maintain a lower even soil temperature, stimulating more aggressive root growth.
How do I prune Dragon Lady Holly?
Pruning is generally not needed on Dragon Lady Holly. However, for a formal hedge, start shearing when the tree reaches 3 or 4 feet in height, cutting only the sides, remove no more than 3 or 4 inches of growth. Doing so will cause the tree to grow thicker. The best time to prune is after a new growth spurt finishes and the new growth begins to mature. Pruning can help make Dragon Lady Holly bushier. We recommend disinfecting your shears before you and after each plant to prevent disease spread. You can prune dead or diseased limbs any time of the year. To encourage thick bushy trees, simply trim back the limbs that have outstretched the rest of the tree.
