Shrub · North Texas care guide
Ilex × 'Nellie R. Stevens'
Nursery Pro tip: Fast, dense, glossy privacy screen with Christmas berries. Our best-selling screen plant.
The fastest, densest big evergreen holly for a privacy screen: glossy dark leaves, heavy red berries, a natural pyramid 15–20 ft tall and 8–12 wide, growing two to three feet a year. Sets berries without a pollinator. The standard answer to 'I need a tall hedge that hides the neighbor.'
Full sun to part shade; berries and density are best in sun. Any soil that drains. Plant 6–8 ft apart for a screen (5 ft if you're in a hurry), 4–5 ft off a fence.
Fall through spring. Wide hole, ball at grade, native soil, Root Stimulator, 3 inches of mulch.
Twice a week the first summer, weekly the second; a screen planted in spring needs steady water through its first August. Established, it's drought tolerant.
Holly or general shrub fertilizer in early spring; chelated iron if the new growth yellows.
Late winter or right after the berries drop. Can be sheared into a formal hedge or left as natural pyramids. Don't remove more than a third at a time.
Scale (dormant oil in winter). Iron chlorosis in high pH — treat early. Leaf spot in wet springs is cosmetic. Sharp leaves — don't plant it by a walkway.
Privacy screen, corner anchor, or clipped hedge. Mix with wax myrtle and cleyera for a softer, layered screen.
Written for Rockwall's black clay, heat and winters by the Landscape Source team. Every yard is different — bring a photo by, or ask LS-Ai, and we'll tailor it to your spot.