Nellie Stevens Holly (Update)

We've gotten a few emails recently asking about our new hedge row, so I thought I would post an update.  We planted our Nellie Stevens Holly trees in late April, and so far, we love them...

holly trees, the day they were delivered

We ordered 20 Nellie Stevens Holly Trees from a nursery in Doylestown, PA.  Each one was about 5 feet tall when we bought them, and the nursery delivered the trees for us.  I highly recommend working with a local nursery, rather than buying your trees from an online source.  It's so important to see the trees in person.  When you buy trees from an online source, they often won't survive the shipment.  And they're pruned so severely before shipping, that the tree you buy is not exactly the tree you expected to receive.  It's not a good thing.  So, do your research beforehand and buy from a local nursery.  You'll be happy you did.  :)

We dug twenty holes along the fence line, just deep enough to accommodate the root ball with about 6 extra inches on all sides.  Since we want these trees to grow about 10 feet tall, we spaced them 5 feet apart on center, and 5 feet away from the property line.

After 6 weeks, this is what our little hedge row looks like:

We've already seen lots of new growth on the branches, so we couldn't be happier.  Hopefully, by this time next year, they'll be a couple of feet taller than they are now.  We love the tiny waxy leaves and deep green color.  And come Christmastime, I can't wait to clip a few branches and bring them inside.  :)

To answer some of your questions: Yes, the leaves are prickly but it doesn't bother us.  No, we did not fertilize these trees (I hear it's not good to fertilize holly trees right away).  No, the leaves have not fallen from the trees.  I've heard mixed reviews about this-- some hollies drop leaves and others don't.  I believe that this is most common in the fall.  So, we'll have to wait and see.  Yes, these trees were easy to plant and aside from heavy watering (during the first few weeks) they seem to be maintenance free.  I hope this helps! 

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