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While holly is often associated with the festive season and its decorative uses, it also makes a fantastic privacy screen for your garden. If you’re looking for a natural and effective way to enhance your privacy and define boundaries, consider planting holly trees for screening!
What varieties of Holly do we stock?
While our native holly (Ilex aquifolium) boasts iconic red berries, these only appear on female plants that have been pollinated. This has led to a surge in popularity for varieties like Ilex ‘Nellie R. Stevens’.
A self-pollinating hybrid, ‘Nellie R. Stevens’ produces abundant red berries in autumn regardless of the plant’s sex. Additionally, its leaves are smoother and less spiky than those of the native holly, further enhancing its appeal.
We currently have the ‘Nellie R. Stevens’ holly available in both standard and bush form (these standards are ideal for evergreen screening). We also offer a smaller, P9 Common holly (Ilex aquifolium) with the distinctive spiny leaves. These are excellent for creating a striking and effective barrier.
We also stock Ilex castaneifolia, also known as Chestnut Leaf Holly. This holly variety features unusually large, serrated leaves that resemble those of the Sweet Chestnut, hence its name. This dense foliage provides year-round coverage, offering a natural privacy solution for your garden.
Planting Holly trees for screening
Both the standard Ilex ‘Nellie R. Stevens’ and Ilex castaneifolia trees have 1.5-1.8m clear stems and a bushy head of foliage that sits above a standard 6ft fence panel to create a “stilted hedge” effect. This provides excellent privacy without taking up valuable garden space.
You could plant these trees 1.2-1.5m apart to create a uninterrupted screen above the fence line or you could strategically placed one tree to block a specific unwanted view.
Frequently Asked Questions
Bare root trees can be planted from November to March. Container grown trees can be planted all year round. Watch our video guide on how to do so.
As a guide, we recommend giving each tree 5 litres of water every other day during the growing season. 5 Litres is a good starting point to make sure that the ground stays moist, if the soil starts to become saturated or dry adjust the amount as required.
Take a look at our watering guide for more advice.
We can offer our planting service if you are local to the nursery. Planting prices are dependent on the size of the pot. Please contact us if you would like a quote.
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