Ilex glabra 'Ivory Queen'
Gallberry Holly, Inkberry Holly
Type Shrub, woody plant
Hardy range 5A to 10A
Height 6' to 10' / 1.80m to 3.00m
Spread 6' to 10' / 1.80m to 3.00m
Growth rate Slow
Form Oval and vase shaped
Exposure Partial shade or partial sun to full sun
Persistence Evergreen
Bloom Color White
Bloom Time Spring
This plant tolerates some drought, flooding and some salt.
This plant will grow in dry to wet or submerged soil.
Suitable soil is well-drained/loamy, sandy or clay.
The pH preference is an acidic to neutral (less than 6.8 to 7.2) soil.
Leaf Color Green
Fall Color No change in fall color
Culture Notes
This clump-forming, evergreen shrub is valued for its foliage and fruits. The lustrous, dark green leaves may have a few obtuse teeth toward the leaf apex or they may have entire margins. They are obovate to oblanceolate in shape and may reach a length of 3/4 to 2 inches. Gallberry becomes somewhat open with age and often loses its small lower branches.
Plants have berry-like, white drupes that occur from September to May of the following year. These 6- to 8-foot-tall plants are especially valuable to birds for their persistent fruits and branch structures. The flowers of Ilex glabra appear in May, and the staminate and pistillate flowers occur on separate plants. The female flowers are solitary. This cultivar has a tight canopy when it is young but opens up more typical of the species as it grows older. This plant is considered mostly allergy free and causes little or no allergy problems in most people.
Ilex glabra
prefers a full sun to partial shade location in the landscape and moist, acid soils; high pH soils should be avoided. Older plants may be renewed by heavy pruning. Gallberry is excellent when used in mass plantings and as naturalizing material. It has been utilized as a hedge, foundation plant and accent plant. It makes a poor hedge because it thins toward the bottom, but plants withstand renewal pruning if they get too leggy. Plants can be found in nature growing at the edge of swamps. Plants serve as hosts for butterfly larvae.
Planting and establishing shrubs
The most common cause of young plant failure is planting too deep. Plant the root ball no deeper than it was in the nursery. In most instances, the root flare zone (point where the top-most root in the root ball originates from the trunk) should be located just above the landscape soil surface. Sometimes plants come from the nursery with soil over the root flare. If there is soil over this area, scrape it off. The planting hole should be at least twice the width of the root ball, preferably wider. In all but exceptional circumstances where the soil is very poor, there is no need to incorporate anything into the backfill soil except the loosened soil that came out of the planting hole. Never place ANY soil over the root ball. If a row or grouping of plants is to be installed, excavating or loosening the soil in the entire bed and incorporating organic matter enhances root growth and establishment rate.
Weed suppression during establishment is essential. Apply a 3-inch thick layer of mulch around the plant to help control weed growth. Keep it at least 10 inches from the trunk. If you apply it over the root ball, apply only a one or two inch layer. This allows rainwater and air to easily enter the root ball and keeps the trunk dry. Placing mulch against the trunk or applying too thick a layer above the root ball can kill the plant by oxygen starvation, death of bark, stem and root diseases, prevention of hardening off for winter, vole and other rodent damage to the trunk, keeping soil too wet, or repelling water. Regular irrigation through the first growing season after planting encourages rapid root growth, which is essential for quick plant establishment.
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