Ilex castaneifolia pleached

Description

Ilex castaneifolia, or Chestnut leaf Holly, is a superb, vigorous-growing female Holly that won the Garden Merit Award in 2002.

Its thick green leaves are large and resemble the shape and form of Castanea sativa from which it derives its name. Its good apical dominance produces a medium to large tree of conical habit. Red berries are produced in abundance in the autumn and it is tolerant of shade.

Like all hollies it will thrive on most soils so long as they are well drained..

Medium pleached trees have a 1.8m clear stem and are trained onto a flat frame which measures approximately 1m high x 1m wide.

Trees trained in this way will require regular maintenance to prune back and tie any loose branches back onto the frames. Pleached panels can be extremely effective for improving privacy in small urban gardens, and like any pleached tree, have the benefit of doing this without reducing the living space in the garden.