Characteristics
| Hardiness zone | 5b |
|---|---|
| Flower color | white |
| Foliage type | evergreen |
| Plant form | round |
| Mature height | 3 feet |
| Spread | 3 feet |
| Light requirements | full sun to partial shade |
| Moisture requirements | moist to wet |
| Plant origin | import |
Soft Touch Japanese Holly
Botanical name: Ilex crenata ‘Soft Touch’
Valued for its lustrous black berries and attractive small evergreen foliage that is deep green with a silver midvein; its rounded, compact growth habit makes it perfect for smaller landscapes; can be sheared for a formal appearance.
Other names: Box-leaved Holly
Ornamental Features
Soft Touch Japanese Holly is primarily grown for its highly ornamental fruit. It features an abundance of magnificent black berries in mid fall. It has attractive dark green foliage with pointy silver spines. The small glossy oval leaves are highly ornamental and remain dark green throughout the winter. The flowers are not ornamentally significant.
Landscape Attributes
Soft Touch Japanese Holly is a dense multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with a more or less rounded form. Its relatively fine texture sets it apart from other landscape plants with less refined foliage.
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. It has no significant negative characteristics.
Soft Touch Japanese Holly is recommended for the following landscape applications;
Mass Planting, Hedges/Screening, General Garden Use, Naturalizing And Woodland Gardens
Planting and Growing
Soft Touch Japanese Holly will grow to be about 3 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 3 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.
