Sky Pencil Holly Ilex Crenata 5 Gal

Ilex crenata, commonly known as Japanese holly or box-leaved holly, is a dense, multi-branched, evergreen shrub with a rounded form that typically matures to 5-10’ tall and as wide. It is native to forests, thickets and mountain slopes in Japan, Korea, China and eastern Russia (Sakhalin). It is noted for its ovate to elliptic, crenate to serrulate, glossy, spineless, evergreen, deep green leaves (to 1.25" long) which are attractive all year, 4 petaled, white, somewhat inconspicuous, flowers which bloom in 3-7 flowered cymes from late spring into early summer, and black rounded somewhat inconspicuous fruits (drupes to 0.25" diameter) which mature in fall on pollinated female plants.

'Sky Pencil' is an exceedingly narrow, fastigiate form which grows somewhat slowly in a vertical, pencil-like column to 10' tall but only 2-3' wide. A typical 4-6' tall specimen may only be 10-12" wide. 'Sky Pencil' is an introduction of the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, D.C.