Xylosma or Brush Holly
Xylosma congestum (FLACOURTIACEAE)
Planting and Growing Xylosma
You’ll find everything you need to know to plant and grow xylosma or brush holly in the accompanying table’s tabs:
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- Flowers, foliage, and berries of xylosma or brush holly
- Growing conditions for xylosma or brush holly
- When and where to plant xylosma or brush holly
- How to plant xylosma or brush holly
- How to shape, prune and control growth of xylosma or brush holly
- Watering, fertilizing, and care of xylosma or brush holly
- Landscape uses of xylosma or brush holly
- Pest and disease control for xylosma or brush holly
Growing Xylosma
Several cultivars of fast-growing, mounding or spreading, evergreen shrubs, to 15 ft. (4.5 m) tall and wide, armed with sharp, slender spines at the junctions of leaf stalks with nodding branches, and with alternate, shiny, bronze turning yellow green, oval, pointed, finely toothed leaves, 3–4 in. (75–100 mm) long.
Dwarf cultivars, multitrunked forms, and standards available.
Xylosma Planting and Care Guide
Flowers and Fruit
Inconspicuous, white flowers in late summer form small, round, seed-filled, red-turning-black berries in late autumn and remain into winter; grown primarily for foliage.
Best Climates
U.S.D.A. Plant Hardiness Zones 7–10. Semi-hardy.
Soil Type and Fertility
Damp to dry, well-drained soil. Fertility: Average. 6.0–7.5 pH.
Where and How to Plant
Full sun to partial shade. Space 7–10 ft. (2.2–3 m) apart.
Proper Care
Easy. Keep damp until established; drought tolerant thereafter. Fertilize annually in spring. Prune to shape, train. Propagate by cuttings, layering, seed.
About This Species
Good choice for accents, borders, espaliers, hedges, topiary in formal, woodland gardens. Attracts pollinators during bloom. Scale, spider mite and chlorosis susceptible.