I hope it's ok for a 'Southerner' to jump in here. ;) I have heard nothing but excellent reports on Nellie R. Stevens holly. Neil Sperry, who is a renown gardener from Texas A&M says it's probably the best. Good luck!

I planted one at my son's house about six years ago, and it looks wonderful and has been completely trouble free. Foliage is a very dark green, so it makes a nice contrast with the other shrubs and trees around, and it does a great job in all seasons of eliminating a view of a neighbor's bathroom window. I recently saw an old one, though, standing three stories tall and very wide, which made a lot more of an impression on me than the mere paper description of ultimate size did. We've planted ours much too close to the house.

does this holly tolorate cold weather? zone 6.. and 7 it gets 20 below here

Does anyone know what the width of these are in say 20 years? I think we planted ours too close to the house also.....

Bumblebeez, my parents have a Nellie Stevens Holly on the side of their home in Atlanta, which is presumably as old as the house (22 years). It is as tall as their multi-level home, which must be at least 25 feet if not 30. I estimate the width is 8-12 feet. Theirs is fairly close to the foundation and should have been planted farther out away from the house, but it doesn't look too bad overall. Nellie Stevens Hollies look fine pruned if you want to keep it inbounds.

Thanks! That's smaller than I was thinking and we have room for that size.
I have a hedge planted on one side of our house near the property line but still 25' or so from the house. I guess I'll have a shade garden over there eventually.

We moved our's last spring. It was on a corner and was too close. We were as careful as we could be, but ended up, after a couple of hours of digging, pulling it out with a truck! We were as gentle as we could be, but the tap root(s) were tough. Anyway, it has survived a summer and a winter in it's new spot and looks happy. I am too.

If there is any problem with this plant, it's that people don't realize how big it wants to grow. The trunk and branches will become very large, too, making this plant the wrong choice as a typical foundation plant.

Even the "dwarf" Nellie gets around 10x10.

Where can I go to get pictures/guidelines for how to prune my Nellie R. Stevens hollies (planted last year)? I don't want a formal, manicured look, but would like to keep a nice shape.

Here's a phamphlet about pruning-

Here is a link that might be useful: Va Tech Extension

THANKS! Great hints on pruning.

After listening to my local garden center advice, and having 10 leyland cypress die -- I've decided to ask for other opinions before planting again.

We have a shaded area (about 4 - 6 hours of intermittent sunlight in the summer and 4 - 6 hours of nearly direct sunlight in the winter) and need to plant a screen to hide the neighbor's area behind our yard. I think that the Nellie R Stevens hollies might do well in this area, but thought I'd ask for other opinions than my local garden center.

We put down soil conditioner with the leylands and the ground stays moist (we have the area mulched and we water as needed). Any other tips that you can provide for success this this plant would be great!

Thank you!
Lynn

Lyn, you might consider a raised planting of sasanqua camelias, most varieties will get 10'-15' tall and wide. It is a very adaptable plant as far as sunlight goes.

I just planted 10 rather large Nellie Stevens Holly trees/bushes ....thus the user name, achingback. They have have created the desired hedge to shield street side....Question ......two of the taller plants ( 6ft.) are heavy with berrys and shiny leafs ....the shorter plants (4ft.) have no berrys and a haze on the leafs that the seller said was caused by minerals deposited when watering. Should I be concerned about the health of these plants? Any thoughts? Thank You, Nancy

Are these the hollys that have hard prickly teethed leaves or the ones with soft pliable leaves?

How much do these Nellies grow when they are babies (2ft)? I was wanting a fast growing hedge. But I don't know what to plant. It has to be evergreen and dense and fast growing as I have a new road going in behind my place. It should help with noise and air pollution if possible. How big are Nellies or other evergreens you may suggest when one buys them from the nursery. I have hardpan soil here, too. Awful stuff. Will these tress be able to fight through that?
Thanks and can you email me at yesright@hotmail.com.Thanks
Steph.

How quickly do Nellies grow In general pretty fast. Where are you? In zone 7 I would plant them in the fall. You can expect a fast growth rate after the first growing season.

That said, even though they aren't my favorite plant, if you have the room and don't mind having a plant that doesn't look manicured, it is hard to beat eleagnus pungens for reducing road noise. They are a maintenance nightmare if you require a manicured look. best to go with the nellie if that is the case. Good luck!

i am looking to plant about 20 plants on my property. the area is over an area where there are some cables. i have dug about 12in deep and not run into any, but there is a cable box close by. do these roots grow deep? would i run into a problem planting these plants over the cables?

Does anyone know where I can buy 50-100 nellie stevens holly seedlings in bulk? What can I expect to pay?

I am in Atlanta and we want to build a hedge around our property. I've already got around 80 Leyland Cypress seedlings in the ground.

Here is a link that might be useful: AchooAllergy.com

I planted three seven foot tall Nellie Stevens hollies last October and they looked great until February when they stated turning brown. They are under a black walnut. Are they not tolerant of black walnut toxicity?

A sub-division went in the 20 acres of woods behind our house. At least 23 years ago, we planted 15 long needle pines. 6 hollies (bufordi, I think) 4 red tips across the back of out lot. We have lost all but 4 pines. The last one was huge but fell one night ??. The hollies have been very slow growing. They are about 7 feet tall now. The red tips are huge and have been the best ones. they are up there almost as tall as the pines. We paid $60 each for the 15 pines (plus a rental fee for a ditch witch thing to plant them), $28-30 each for the hollies and about $3.00 each for the red tips. Red tips were the best...Sarah

I thought this holly is drought resistant. Monrovia says that it needs regular watering. It does well in North Texas heat?

does anybody know something about the root system from a holly? ask because i would like to plant them about 6 ft from a septic tank. thank you in advance

Is this tree appropriate near swimming pools? It seems as though it would be dropping it's berries and leaves in the pool all year around...

I have Nellie Stevens and it does drop leaves but the leaves are right there at the base of the tree. I guess if you have a lot of wind the leaves may be blown around. How close to the pool do you want to put it?

Outside the fence and not in the prevailing wind area because the prickly leaves and

blossoms attracting so many bees and other stinging pollinators. 12 feet away from pool area should be OK. Keep it out of the paths/lawns where bare feet will suffer

from the holly leaves. Berries are the least issue because they tend to drop straight

down.

You may just not want to plant it although it is very pretty with green foliage all year. Maybe try looking for something else.

Any idea why my Niellies are not growing at all. It's been almost 4 years and it almost looks the same or grown very little(may be few inches).

Appreciate your help.

Any idea why my Niellies are not growing at all. It's been almost 4 years and they almost looks the same or grown very little(may be few inches).

Appreciate your help.

Is the trunk thicker than when they were planted? If not then you might have a strangling root, one that curled around the plant pot and wasn't straightened or trimmed before planting. Are they small enough still to dig up and replant?

I know mine took about two years to get established and were trimmed twice a year during that time to help force root growth. After the 4th year they took off and they get shorn once a year now at the end of December.

Take a photo of them and bring it to your local tree/shrub nursery (not the big box home improvement stores that also sell plants).

Does anyone know whats the safe distance to plant a couple of these nellys to a septic tank/ lines?