A native, deer-resistant plant with year-round interest? That sounds like a good deal to me. You may be familiar with our inkberry hollies, Gem Box® and Strongbox®; Natalie has written a plant of the week about them. Today, I want to tell you about Squeeze Box™ Inkberry Holly, a new male selection of Ilex glabra.
Squeezing its way into your garden
Squeeze Box™ is our new upright inkberry holly. When planted near our female inkberry hollies (Gem Box® or Strongbox®), Squeeze Box™ will act as a pollinator and enable the female varieties to produce small black inkberries, which birds will happily gobble up.
But that’s not all Squeeze Box™ has to offer; it is also a handsome landscape plant and a great replacement for boxwood. Its narrow, upright, pyramidal habit makes it a great choice for hedges or as a specimen plant. The tiny, glossy green foliage is evergreen, allowing you to enjoy its beauty all year long.
Squeeze Box™ inkberry holly grows 4-6’ tall and 2-3’ wide. It will tolerate shade, but for the best foliage color and density, plant this beauty in full to part sun. If you have a wet site that you’ve been looking to fill, this might just be the perfect plant, as inkberry holly likes a consistently moist environment. Like other inkberries, Squeeze Box™ is hardy in USDA Zones 5-9.
Because Squeeze Box™ inkberry holly grows in a naturally dense habit, it requires very little pruning. If you’d like to have an extra-tidy look, it can be trimmed in late spring.
Have a fabulous weekend!