Lakeshore Garden Centres Plant Finder

Other Names:  Tea Olive, Olive Holly, Holly-Leaf Osmanthus

Description:

The profuse, sweetly fragrant white flowers, and dense habit, makes this variety very appealing; flowers in fall, presenting large clusters on the stems; a great garden or container plant that takes pruning well

Ornamental Features

Party Princess® False Holly features showy clusters of fragrant white flowers along the branches in mid fall. Its attractive spiny pointy leaves emerge coral-pink in spring, turning dark green in colour with pointy chartreuse spines the rest of the year.

Landscape Attributes

Party Princess® False Holly is a dense multi-stemmed evergreen perennial with a shapely oval form. Its medium texture blends into the garden, but can always be balanced by a couple of finer or coarser plants for an effective composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and is best cut back to the ground in late winter before active growth resumes. Deer don't particularly care for this plant and will usually leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. Gardeners should be aware of the following characteristic(s) that may warrant special consideration;

• Spiny

Party Princess® False Holly is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Mass Planting
• Hedges/Screening
• Topiary
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Party Princess® False Holly will grow to be about 6 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 6 feet. Although it is technically a woody plant, this slow-growing plant can be expected to behave as a perennial in our climate if planted outdoors over the winter, usually regrowing from its base (crown) the following year. As such, gardeners should take into consideration that it will perform differently than it would in its native habitat.

This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.

Party Princess® False Holly is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. Because of its height, it is often used as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden. Be aware that in our climate, most plants cannot be expected to survive the winter if left in containers outdoors, and this plant is no exception. Contact our experts for more information on how to protect it over the winter months.

This plant is not reliably hardy in our region, and certain restrictions may apply; contact the store for more information.