Looking at Plants

Ilex glabra ‘Compacta’

COMMON NAMES

Compact Inkberry Holly

Ilex (EYE-leks) - Latin name for Quercus ilex; now applied to Holly genus

glabra (GLAY-bruh) – without hairs

‘Compacta’ – cultivar name; for compact form

GROUP 

Dicot

FAMILY 

Aquifoliaceae

ORIGIN

Species - Eastern coastal United States; Cultivar - unsure

DESCRIPTION

Compact Inkberry Holly is an evergreen shrub that averages 3 to 4 feet in height with a spread of 4 to 6 feet.  It has a compact, rounded growth habit with well-branched, dense foliage. It is a prolific producer of root suckers. It has a slow to moderate growth rate.

Leaves are evergreen, small, oval-shaped with entire to slightly serrate margins, alternate in arrangement, simple, glossy, and dark green in color. It has pinnate veins.

Ilex glabra is dioecious. ‘Compacta’ is a female cultivar. It needs a male nearby to set fruit. The white flowers are small with 7 petals, and often inconspicuous. It blooms in late spring.

Fruit are black berry-like drupes that are about 3/8 inch in diameter and are borne in fall to winter.

HARDINESS

It is hardy in USDA Zones 4 to 9.

LIGHT

Full sun/part shade

SALT

Good Salt Spray Tolerance – it will grow near the shore but will benefit from a little protection such as behind the first row of plantings or behind the first dunes.

SOIL

It prefers a moist, acidic well-drained soil in the pH range of 5.5 to 6.5, but it will grow on other soils, even tolerating wet soils. It can exhibit iron chlorosis on high alkaline soils.

WATERING

It has poor to moderate drought tolerance once established, so water is needed for survival in dry spells. Ample irrigation in droughts keeps it healthier and looking better.

PROPAGATION

Semi-hardwood cuttings taken in the late summer/early fall with the use of a rooting hormone and put under mist will usually root in about 6 to 8 weeks; root suckers

PRUNING

Prune in early spring for shaping – it can get a little leggy. It will take to clipping as a hedge – looking best as an informal one.

FERTILIZING

It has no special fertilizer needs. Unless a soil test suggests otherwise, a slow-release balanced analysis fertilizer applied per the product label will work. Growing in higher alkaline soils may require an iron supplement.

PESTS

Aphids, Twolined Spittlebug,  Southern Red Mite,  Twospotted Mite,  False Spider Mite - Brevipalpus californicus,  Red and Black Flat Mite, Florida Wax Scale, Holly Leaf Miner, Whiteflies, Citrus Longhorned Beetle, Thorn Bug, Twobanded Japanese Weevil, Black Scale, Tea Scale, Glassy-Winged Sharpshooter, Lobate Lac Scale

DISEASES

Anthracnose, Bacterial Blight, Black Root Rot, Sphaeropsis Gall, Botryosphaeria Canker and Dieback, Rhizoctonia Root and Stem Rot, Witch’s Broom

DEER

Resistant

There are very few totally “deer-proof” plants. There are also, relatively speaking, few plants that are considered a preferred food supply of deer. Most plants fall in the big gap between. One of the biggest variables is the available preferred food supply in a given area. If their preferred food is scarce, they will munch on most anything.

USES

Wildlife plantings, specimen plant, hedge/screening, topiary, rain gardens or wet areas

TOXICITY

California Poison Control gives the berries of Ilex spp. a listing of:

3 – Moderate - Ingestion of these plants is expected to cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and other symptoms that may cause illness but is not life-threatening.

University of California lists the berries of Ilex spp. as; Minor Toxicity: Ingestion of these plants may cause minor illnesses such as vomiting or diarrhea. If ingested, call the Poison Control Center or your doctor.

ASPCA lists Ilex opaca, a relative, as toxic to dogs, cats, and horses.

Canadian Poisonous Plants Information System lists Ilex opaca, a relative, with toxic fruits.

The Cat Fanciers Association lists Holly as toxic to cats.