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| Hi, I am thinking of planting two Blue Princess hollies in my yard and wanted to know how fast they grow in the Maryland area (just outside of DC). I found some in a 3 gallon pot for sale but I fear it will take quite a while before it looks somewhat substantial. The area is part shade (maybe even more shade than sun) under my bay window. How fast would they grown in my area in part shade?
Thanks! |
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| I have at least 15 Blue Princess hollies growing here in zone 6 in various sun/shade conditions, and have had some for 15 years, some for only a year or two in place. All of them are growing slower than I would like. And the more shade the slower. Also, these hollies seem more susceptible to problems such as die-back than others. Plus, if you want them to have berries, you will need a male nearby. And they seem to need more water than other evergreen hollies. I much prefer the Nellie R. Steven holly: it grows much faster, is much more disease-resistant, more drought tolerant. But it will grow to 20 or 25 feet high. It does however take pruning well, if carefully done. Yet for whatever reason, stores offer Blue Princess much more often than Nellies. Nellies are hard to find in small pots now, though back when I bought most of mine in the 90s, it was common to find one-gallon pots. Blue hollies can look very nice if well-cared for: be sure to amend the soil with organic matter, stir in some fertilizer, plenty of mulch on top, and frequent fertilizer thereafter. Plus frequent watering at least for the first year. Maybe prune sometimes for thicker growth. |
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- Posted by Derrick111 7 (My Page) on Sat, Sep 1, 12 at 18:31
| Wow, good to know Eimer! I think I will have to keep looking... I am trying to decide on something to plant under my bay window in front of the house. I do already have two Nellies that I started with. See below... |
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| What a nice window. We actually have a similar "picture" window facing southwest which would therefore get much sun if it were not for plenty of tree cover. Underneath that window we have some spreading yew growing which I love for its dark green texture. There are spreading yews which grow to about 3 feet tall and take compact, dry foundation soil well, and will take continued dryness well once established. These should also do fine between your two Nellies to cover that concrete. There are also durable yews with about a 5 or 6 foot maximum height, and these too have excellent dark green texture which goes well with hollies. But the yews are not fast growing. I did fertilize ours plenty with general fertilizer and that did seem to speed growth. Plenty of mulch on top seems to help. |
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| What a nice window. We actually have a similar "picture" window facing southwest which would therefore get much sun if it were not for plenty of tree cover. Underneath that window we have some spreading yew growing which I love for its dark green texture. There are spreading yews which grow to about 3 feet tall and take compact, dry foundation soil well, and will take continued dryness well once established. These should also do fine between your two Nellies to cover that concrete. There are also durable yews with about a 5 or 6 foot maximum height, and these too have excellent dark green texture which goes well with hollies. But the yews are not fast growing. I did fertilize ours plenty with general fertilizer and that did seem to speed growth. Plenty of mulch on top seems to help. |
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- Posted by Derrick111 7 (My Page) on Sun, Sep 2, 12 at 20:29
| Thanks again, sounds like a good suggestion. BTW... where in zone 6 are you located? |
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- Posted by Derrick111 7 (My Page) on Thu, Sep 6, 12 at 11:33
| OK, I decided to go with two Dwarf Buford hollies for the front of the bay window. They grow between 4-5 feet tall and height and self pollinate bringing beautiful berries. The leaves are a great dark green color, nice shape, and size too. Growth rate is a bit slow, but that's life. |
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| Dwarf Buford hollies seem to be very durable but also very slow growing. About 10 years ago I planted four small ones, about 1 foot high, in places where there is not much sun and poor soil with competing tree roots. They did not grow much over the years. Then I decided to water and fertilize one frequently through one growing season with high nitrogen Miracid, and that one eventually shot up to six feet. Still, the berries are few. I live up in the Appalachians. |
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