Ilex x meserveae Blue princess - Blue Holly

Ilex (x) merseveae 'Blue Princess' is a superb female selection of the Meserve Holly, due to its abundant bright red berries that will bring life to the garden from autumn to winter. This shrub, with a sturdy and pyramidal habit, also has a very beautiful evergreen and remarkably shiny, spiny foliage of a very dark blue-green colour, which forms a superb backdrop for its numerous clusters of red berries. This holly requires the proximity of a male plant such as 'Blue Prince' to bear fruit. It prefers neutral to slightly acidic deep soil and grows well in the sun or partial shade, as a mixed hedge, in a border or as a standalone specimen.

The Meserve Holly is a horticultural hybrid obtained in the United States in 1964. It is the result of a cross-breeding between Ilex aquifolium, the common holly of our forests, and Ilex rugosa, a Japanese species with almost prostrate leaves of rough texture. All these shrubs belong to the family Aquifoliaceae.

The 'Blue Princess' variety, which only produces female flowers, was selected in the USA in 1974. This excellent variety has received awards in England for its ornamental qualities and performance in the garden. The shrub has a pyramidal habit, slightly compact, dense and regular. It reaches an average height of 4.50 m (14 ft 10 in) with a spread of 2.50 m. It is also distinguished by its tough, oval, slightly undulate, dentate and glossy leaves.  These leaves are light green when budding and then take on a very dark green-blue hue. All hollies are dioecious plants, meaning that there are individual plants bearing either male flowers and female flowers. Only the female plants bear fruit and are highly valued for their great ornamental qualities. Blue Princess holly produces numerous clusters of small inconspicuous but honey-scented flowers in spring, pale greenish-white in colour, which will then form an abundant number of fleshy ovoid berries of a deep red colour.  This only happens if there is a nearby male holly plant to pollinate the female plant. Recognizing the sex of the flowers requires a trained eye; they all have four white petals with purple tips, and their surface is waxy, but male flowers are recognizable by their four prominent yellow anthers, while female flowers have a short, green, oval pistil. The same shrub can produce both male and ineffective female flowers, which cannot be pollinated. The seeds are dispersed by birds that love the fruits.

Of fairly rapid growth, Ilex x meserveae Blue Princess is a centrepiece of the garden in winter, even when space is limited. It is perfect in a mixed hedge, in the company of Eleagnus, Laurustinus, Cotoneaster lacteus, Photinia or even Mexican Orange. It dislikes limestone, which causes its beautiful foliage to turn yellow, and prefers deep and fairly fertile soils. Hardy well beyond -15°C, it likes semi-shaded to sunny spots, for example under trees or on the edge of woodlands, in a large natural garden. 

Hollies are both loved and misunderstood plants. The genus comprises nearly 800 deciduous or evergreen species, generally native to the temperate northern hemisphere. These very ancient plants have experienced both periods of glacial and dry and warm periods in our climatic history, making them extremely adaptable and resistant plants. Their wood, white to cream-coloured, is very low in water, even when green. It is dense and heavy, but soft and easy to work with in woodworking. It is also an excellent fuel for heating, usable even when green. Finally, their foliage and (inedible) berries are rich in caffeine. A tea is prepared with their leaves in the Black Forest.