gem box inkberry holly - Gardening
If you love the look of boxwood hedges but need something easier to maintain, or prefer shrubs with native roots, Gem Box inkberry holly is a perfect choice. At first glance, it’s tough to tell the two evergreens apart—both have tiny, dark green leaves and a rounded shape. Gem Box Inkberry Holly (Ilex) Live Shrub, Green Foliage, 4.5 in.
Understanding the Context
Qt. Gem Box® inkberry holly (Ilex glabra) is a ground-breaking alternative to boxwood. Though it grows native across much of eastern North America, Proven Winners ColorChoice Shrubs selected Gem Box® for its dense, neat, rounded shape and ability to stay lush and full all the way to the ground. Gem Box® Inkberry Holly is a compact evergreen with boxwood-like shape, red-tinted spring growth, and year-round structure—perfect for hedges, borders, or containers.
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Key Insights
Gem Box Inkberry Holly is the perfect blend of native durability and boxwood-like refinement. It’s reliable, compact, deer-resistant, and stays beautifully green all year long — everything today’s homeowners want in a small evergreen shrub. Gem Box Inkberry Holly is a dense global evergreen shrub with upright dark green leaves flushed with red tips in spring. Inconspicuous flowers. Grows best in moist, slightly acidic well-drained soils.
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While Gem Box is a female variety, there are no compatible males currently on market to pollinate. Ilex glabra Gem Box® (Inkberry) is a dwarf, broadleaf evergreen of compact, rounded habit with lush foliage of small, dainty, dark green leaves adorned with attractive red tips during the spring flush. This looks for all the world like a little boxwood, but it’s actually an inkberry holly. This tidy evergreen is native to North America and it doesn’t have the issues that boxwood does. It behaves very similarly to boxwood, as it’ll also respond really well to shaping in late spring.