Japanese 'Soft Touch' Holly - Ilex crenata 'Soft Touch' - Planted in Back Beds - November 2023
The fun of evergreens as part of my Fall Planting Sprint comes to an end today with three Japanese 'Soft Touch' Holly. Named Ilex crenata 'Soft Touch' - these are a little different than most of the Hollys that I've become familiar with over the years. The name is the big tell - they're not full of sharp points. I came across a few of these 'larger-than-one-gallon' nursery pots on a bench at the Orange big box store and quickly whipped out my phone. Here's what the foliage looks like before planting: The page from NC State had me sold enough to put them in my cart. Here's how they talk about Soft Touch Japanese Holly : Soft Touch Japanese Holly is a dense, mounded, evergreen shrub with a moderate growth rate. Unlike its parent, it will reach a relatively short height of 3 feet and has soft-textured leaves without the sharp spines typically found on Japanese Holly. Soft Touch Japanese Holly glossy green leaves also have an interesting silver