Rotunda Chinese Holly
Ilex cornuta 'Rotunda'
Height: 4 feet
Spread: 6 feet
Sunlight:
Hardiness Zone: 7a
Description:
This dwarf holly produces a dense low mound of extremely spiny leaves that emerge chartreuse with brownish-red highlights and turns deep green; grown primarily for foliage, it produces no flowers or fruit; makes a great hedge
Ornamental Features
Rotunda Chinese Holly has attractive dark green evergreen foliage which emerges chartreuse in spring on a plant with a mounded habit of growth. The glossy pointy leaves are highly ornamental and remain dark green throughout the winter.
Landscape Attributes
Rotunda Chinese Holly is a multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with a mounded form. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.
This is a relatively low maintenance shrub, and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. It is a good choice for attracting birds and bees to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.
Rotunda Chinese Holly is recommended for the following landscape applications;
- Accent
- Mass Planting
- Naturalizing And Woodland Gardens
Planting & Growing
Rotunda Chinese Holly will grow to be about 4 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 6 feet. It has a low canopy. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 50 years or more.
This shrub does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers to grow in moist to wet soil, and will even tolerate some standing water. It is particular about its soil conditions, with a strong preference for rich, acidic soils. It is quite intolerant of urban pollution, therefore inner city or urban streetside plantings are best avoided, and will benefit from being planted in a relatively sheltered location. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America, and parts of it are known to be toxic to humans and animals, so care should be exercised in planting it around children and pets.
