Ilex Glow Stick™ Japanese Holly

A Proven Winners® ColorChoice® Flowering Shrubs variety, Ilex Glow Stick™ is a compact broadleaf evergreen shrub offering year-round interest, grown for its bright golden foliage that has shown no signs of winter damage or sunburn, even in full sun. The dense, multistemmed shrub needs little shaping to maintain its naturally narrow (1-foot wide) form and adds lovely structure to gardens and landscapes. In late spring, it blooms in clusters of small 4-petaled white flowers with greenish centers.

An Ilex crenata, also known as Japanese holly or box leaved holly, Glow Stick has a relatively fast growth rate and a compact, upright habit. Great for small garden spaces, the shrub is also a nice container plant in milder climates. Massed, it makes a fine small, informal hedge or shrub border. It tolerates air pollution, so it's an excellent option for urban gardens.

Easy to grow, Japanese holly grows best in sunny to partly sunny locations with light, consistently moist soils with an acidic pH but tolerates a wide range of soils, including dry, sandy, and clay soils. Although little to no pruning is required, any desired pruning should be done in early spring just before new growth emerges. Glow Stick is heat and salt tolerant.