Blue holly 'Blue Princess'
Ilex x meserveae 'Blue Princess' · Aquifoliaceae Popular
Glossy, spiny, blue-green leaves on purple stems, and more bright red berries than any other hardy holly, through autumn and winter.
- Size
- 10 ft tall, 8 ft wide
- Zones
- 5 to 7
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Grown for its leaves; flowers mid May to late May
- Pets
- Toxic (mild)
- Job in a bed
- Anchor
A bed built around blue holly 'Blue Princess'
The planner designed this bed around blue holly 'Blue Princess' when this page was made: a 22 × 10 ft (6.7 × 3.0 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why blue holly 'Blue Princess' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Blue holly 'Blue Princess' × 1, dark green leaves
- 2 Bloody cranesbill × 10, pink
- 3 Sedum 'Lidakense' × 41, pink
- 4 Black hollyhock × 4, purple
- 5 Sweet coneflower 'Henry Eilers' × 4, yellow
- 6 Yarrow × 5, yellow
- 7 Speedwell 'Royal Candles' × 16, blue
- 8 Coneflower 'PowWow Wild Berry' × 8, pink
- 9 Star of Persia × 6, purple
- 10 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 4, purple
- 11 Allium 'Mount Everest' × 5, white
Why this plant
- The only plant grown for its leaves. Leaf lasts all season, where a flower lasts a few weeks.
- The bed's only structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down, and it is the only one here.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 10 ft it is the tallest plant here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' (2½ ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- One plant, alone. A shrub is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- Here for its leaves, all year. They cover the 20 weeks between early March and late November when nothing on the plan is in flower.
- The only leaves in winter. From November to March it is what there is to look at.
Planned as an English border: 14 of the 17 groups (82%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The back corners are held by black hollyhock and blue holly 'Blue Princess', the tallest plants on the plan. There is more sedum 'Lidakense' than anything else, 41 plants in all.
The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 4 Good, 2 Satisfactory. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where blue holly 'Blue Princess' goes in a border
At 10 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is super tall (over 6½ ft).
Its job: anchor. A shrub that gives the bed permanent structure. Planted singly, as soon as the front edge is laid; everything else is arranged around it.
The classic Christmas holly for cold climates, bred by Kathleen Meserve on Long Island. It is female and needs a male such as 'Blue Prince' within about 15 m to fruit.
- Red berries in winter
- Evergreen hedges and screens
- Cut branches at Christmas
What to plant with blue holly 'Blue Princess'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Spreading yew 'Densiformis': low enough (4 ft) to stand in front of it.
- Boxwood 'Green Velvet': low enough (3 ft) to stand in front of it.
- Lilyturf: adds the flowers, early August to mid September; spires rising out of its mound; low enough (16 in) to stand in front of it.
Questions about blue holly 'Blue Princess'
Does blue holly 'Blue Princess' need sun or shade?
Blue holly 'Blue Princess' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day) and part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does blue holly 'Blue Princess' grow in?
USDA zones 5 to 7. It is hardy to zone 5, which means it survives winter nights down to about −10 °F (−23 °C).
Above zone 7 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
How far apart should blue holly 'Blue Princess' be planted?
6½ ft (200 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 8 ft (250 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 10 ft (300 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many blue holly 'Blue Princess' plants do I need?
Usually one. At 6½ ft (200 cm) across, it is a plant you place, not one you mass. For a hedge or screen, set them 6½ ft apart: two plants for a 10 ft run.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is blue holly 'Blue Princess' poisonous to dogs and cats?
Yes: mild toxicity to people, dogs, cats and horses. The berries and leaves cause vomiting and diarrhoea if eaten.
Rated from NC State Extension and the ASPCA. Where references disagree, the more cautious rating is used.
Is there a pet-safe plant like blue holly 'Blue Princess'?
These come closest to doing what blue holly 'Blue Princess' does, and no toxicity is recorded for them:
- Mugo pine: the same job in a bed; 5 ft shorter, 8 in narrower.
- Northern bayberry: the same job in a bed; 3½ ft shorter, not evergreen.
- Yellow twig dogwood: the same job in a bed; 3½ ft shorter, 8 in narrower.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Do deer eat blue holly 'Blue Princess'?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
What does blue holly 'Blue Princess' look like in winter?
Blue holly 'Blue Princess' keeps its dark green and blue-green leaves all winter, so it is one of the plants that hold a bed together from November to March, when the perennials have gone. It is grown for red berries in winter as well.
Is blue holly 'Blue Princess' good for bees and butterflies?
Blue holly 'Blue Princess' is visited by pollinators, specialist bees and songbirds.
More Ilex
- Blue holly Ilex x meserveae
- Burford holly Ilex cornuta 'Burfordii'
- Dwarf yaupon holly Ilex vomitoria 'Nana'
- Inkberry Ilex glabra
- Inkberry 'Gem Box' Ilex glabra 'SMNIGAB17' (Gem Box)
- Inkberry 'Shamrock' Ilex glabra 'Shamrock'
- Japanese holly 'Helleri' Ilex crenata 'Helleri'
- Japanese holly 'Sky Pencil' Ilex crenata 'Sky Pencil'
- Japanese holly 'Soft Touch' Ilex crenata 'Soft Touch'
- Winterberry Ilex verticillata
- Winterberry 'Berry Poppins' Ilex verticillata 'FARROWBPOP' (Berry Poppins)
- Winterberry 'Red Sprite' Ilex verticillata 'Red Sprite'
- Winterberry 'Winter Red' Ilex verticillata 'Winter Red'
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 10 ft (300 cm) tall, 8 ft (250 cm) wide
- Plant
- 6½ ft (200 cm) apart
- Height class
- Super tall (over 6½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Mid May to late May; dense clusters; white
- Leaves
- Medium texture, evergreen; dark green, blue-green
- Shape
- Rounded, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 5 to 7
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
- Family
- Aquifoliaceae
- Attracts
- Pollinators, specialist bees, songbirds
- Stands up to
- Deer
Checked against NC State Extension and ASPCA poison lists. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.