Other Names:  Chinese Holly, Horned Holly

Description:

A compact variety producing glossy golden new foliage that develops green variegation as it matures; a dense, rounded growth habit that is great for massing into hedges; an excellent border or landscape accent plant

Ornamental Features

Masashi's Gold Holly is primarily grown for its highly ornamental fruit. It features an abundance of magnificent red berries in late fall. It has attractive dark green-variegated gold foliage which emerges yellow in spring. The glossy pointy leaves are highly ornamental and remain gold throughout the winter.

Landscape Attributes

Masashi's Gold Holly is a multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with a mounded form. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance shrub, and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. It is a good choice for attracting birds and bees to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Masashi's Gold Holly is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Mass Planting
• Naturalizing And Woodland Gardens

Planting & Growing

Masashi's Gold Holly will grow to be about 10 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 10 feet. It has a low canopy, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 50 years or more.

This shrub 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 particular about its soil conditions, with a strong preference for rich, acidic soils. It is quite intolerant of urban pollution, therefore inner city or urban streetside plantings are best avoided, and will benefit from being planted in a relatively sheltered location. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America, and parts of it are known to be toxic to humans and animals, so care should be exercised in planting it around children and pets.