Ilex Meserveae Blue Prince Shrub

Ilex meserveae Blue Prince (also known as the Blue Holly) is an evergreen holly shrub. It produces discreet little flowers in spring. The prickly foliage has a permanent blue-green hue and leaves are circa 5 cm in length and have decorative leaf spines. The bark is a contrasting purple brown colour.

Ilex Meserveae Blue Prince has a naturally bushy, spreading, vigorous growth habit. Within 10 years, it will be about 2 metres tall, if not clipped.  Overtime, it will reach a height of about 3 to 4 metres by 2. 5 metres wide. As Ilex Meserveae Blue Prince can be clipped quite tightly so you can keep it to whatever shape is required.

Blue Prince is the male form of Ilex Meserveae, which is a hybrid of Ilex Rugosa (Japanese holly variety) and Ilex Aquifolium (English Holly).  Blue Prince is an excellent pollinator for female forms – such as Ilex meserveae Blue Angel and Ilex meserveae Blue Princess, which are known for producing an abundance of berries. In fact, Blue Prince is an excellent pollinator of female hollies in general so it is always good to add one to the garden to ensure an abundance of showy holly berries in the autumn and winter.

Planting Usage:
Ilex Meserveae Blue Prince shrubs can be planted as single standalone shrub or in groups. Ilex Meserveae can also be used as an excellent evergreen privacy screen. It makes an attractive evergreen, dense and hardy hedge, keeping intruders at bay due to it spiny leaves. These hollies shrubs can also be used in mixed borders with the deep blue green foliage providing a good background for flowering plants. Ilex Meserveae plants will grow well in containers.

Aspect:
If possible, plant Ilex Meserveae in a nice sunny spot. That said, they are definitely shade tolerant.

Meserveae Blue hollies are very hardy and very well suited to the UK climate. They are especially useful in a coastal location.

In addition to the shrub forms of Ilex Meserveae Blue Prince, we also have Ilex Meserveae Blue prince Cloud Trees and Ilex Meserveae Blue Prince Topiary Globes.