Ilex x meserveae 'JADE STAR'

Jade Star is an attractive version of a blue holly with variegated leaves. It was found by W.Renken in 1994 as a sport of another very popular blue holly variety Blue Prince^®. It has medium-sized spineless leaves that are only serrated at margins which are variegated creamy beige to creamy white. The main foliage colour is dark green with some lighter shades of dull green. In autumn and winter another feature becomes visible and attractive – young twigs and tiny flowers buds are striking burgundy red all winter long.

Jade Star is a male holly, ideal pollinator for other female hollies that produce berries. It grows slowly or moderately, spreading to sides rather that growing tall. Pruning is recommended for young plants in order to develop a bushy framework that will secure number of branches and dense foliage.

Meserveae hollies are called blue hollies thanks to the shade of the species leaves that are dark green with bluish tint. And the name meserveae was chosen for its cultivator, Kathleen Meserve, who, literally on her windowsill, made a cross of ilex rugosa and ilex aquifolium in 1950´s to achieve excellent cold hardiness on a fabulously foliaged evergreen plant. She died in 1999 at the age of 93 but left behind an impressive line of these evergreen superbly hardy varieties.

Blue hollies need almost no maintenance if you provide them with slightly acidic, fertile, and well-drained but evenly moist soil after transplanting. Under these conditions they are beautiful and trouble-free dense shrubs with no defoliated twigs even without pruning. Another huge advantage is the hardiness. Jade Star holly can stand very low temperatures without any damage: it is supposed to survive -30°C and thrive in USDA zone 5, perhaps even 4 with protection.

Last update: 25-12-2014