ilex crenata 'dark green'® ilex crenata 'blondie'®
TRANSCRIPT
Naturallyilex
Ilex crenata ‘Dark Green’®Ilex crenata ‘Blondie’®
®
2 Naturally Ilex
L orem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam,
quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam.
Contents
4 - 5 Ilex Crenata THEN and NOW
6 - 7Het Loo Royal Palace in Apeldoorn
8 - 9Ilex Crenata in rounded forms
10 - 11Capel Manor Gardens in North London
12 - 13Ilex Crenata in angular forms
14 - 15Villa garden in Brussels
16 - 17Frequently asked questions
18 - 19The nursery
2 Naturally Ilex
ColofonClient: Ilex Select
With thanks to: Het Loo Palace (Apeldoorn),
Capel Manor Gardens (Enfield, London),
residents and architects of the gardens
photographed
Production: Het Groenbureau (Dongen)
Printing: @traction (Ekeren)
Naturally Ilex 3
L orem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam,
quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam.
Naturally IlexW e are proud to introduce Ilex Crenata ‘Dark
Green’® and ‘Blondie’®. These plants are the
result of carefully selected Ilex seedlings which
are protected by plant breeders’ rights. With Ilex Crenata ‘Dark
Green’® and ‘Blondie’® we guarantee you high quality and con-
sistent plants.
The following pages show selections of Ilex Crenata used in
gardens: from fantasy and bonsai forms, spheres, ‘bee hives’
and cloud formations to hedges in straight and curved forms,
block forms and columns. Open your imagination to the wide
range of possibilities!
4 Naturally Ilex
A s early as 1936, it was noted that Ilex crenata “is a
great shrub, that stands out for its small shiny green
leaves, which look much like those of the boxwood
shrub.”
Aside from that, the leaves are up to 3 cm in size and the leaf
is toothed (crenate means wavy-toothed). Ilex crenata grows
naturally on the islands of Japan, where the species can be
found in shrub growth along streams and in forests. From a
compact bush, this Japanese holly developed into a vigorous
shrub and sometimes into a small, multi-stemmed tree.
We have enjoyed Ilex crenata in our own gardens for a long
time. And the fact that Japanese holly is still valued is shown
by its use in Jubilee Park in London, designed by the well-
known Flemish landscape architects Jacques and Peter Wirtz
in 2002. This park - on the roof of a car park - is enclosed by
a beech hedge and criss- crossed by serpentine lines of small
stone walls. The green is in the form of lawns and, among other
things, masses of Ilex crenata.
Little was written about the cultivars of Ilex crenata in the last
century, while over 60 are registered today. Nevertheless the
1971 catalogue of the well-known English nursery Hilliers &
Sons does list nine varieties. Of these, the yellow-leaved ‘Golden
Gem’, the compact growing ‘Stokes’ and ‘Convexa’ with its
distinct bulging leaf are the best known. ‘Convexa’ was by far
the best- known cultivar at the end of the last century, although
it was only used on a modest scale. Fine examples of shaped
masses were particularly evident in the gardens from the 1970s.
Ilex crenata in literature…The Dutch author John Bergmans wrote in his 1936 book
‘De tuin bij het huis’ [The garden at the house]: “Ilex crenata
is a great shrub, that stands out for its small shiny green
leaves, which look much like those of the boxwood shrub.”
Another Dutch author A.J. Herwig describes Ilex crenata in
his ‘Herwigs Praktische Tuin-Encyclopaedie’ [Practical Gar-
den Encyclopaedia] from 1937. And in the summary of small
evergreen shrubs in his book ‘Ik kan tuinieren’ [I can garden]
from 1952 he writes on this species: “a shrub with small
crenate leaves, that can tolerate shade well. His compatriot
Elisabeth de Lestrieux describes the shrub species in
‘Het kleine paradijs’ [The little paradise] from 1984 as a good
hedge plant; “if you do not want to have to prune ‘carefully’
with the pruning shears, choose the small-leaved Ilex cre-
nata.” The English green author Stanley B. Whitehead des-
cribes Ilex crenata in ‘Gardening with Shrubs & Trees’ from
1957 as “slow growing and useful for the front of a border.”
Ilex crenata THENAn exciting revival!Modest in size, easy to prune, evergreen and cold-hardy.
These are the most important qualities of Ilex crenata.
A shrub that was widely used in gardens, especially at
the beginning of the last century, but has now made an
important comeback due to improved varieties.
1936 1937 1952
Naturally Ilex 5
Y ou can well imagine the result: a field full of different
variants of Ilex crenata, one of which immediately
stands out for its vigorous growth with young shoots
and a light green colour. This cultivar is called ‘Blondie’®. Not
much later, the dark-leaved ‘Dark Green’® was also selected
for its great resemblance to Buxus. “Although at that time, that
was completely irrelevant because Buxus was being sold in
large numbers,” explains Oprins. However, when the boxwood
fields at his nursery required increasing care, the healthy ‘Dark
Green’® was found to be a good alternative.
Ilex crenata ‘Dark Green’® and ‘Blondie’® are very healthy culti-
vars, virtually free of pests and diseases which lend themselves
well to pruning, and stand out year-round with their beautiful leaf
colour. In short, they are the perfect plants for hedges, whether
low or high, and any other topiary form imaginable. After the
trademark protection of these new cultivars, production has
been considerably increased. This means that both strains are
widely available, from small plants in pot size P9 to open ground
plants with heights of up to two meters. “Now that we’ve come
this far, the future for these two Ilex Crenata cultivars looks bright
because of their many and diverse applications.
Ilex crenata NOWA revolution in the gardenJan Oprins, a plant lover through and through, has been
working with his nursery in Rijkevorsel, Belgium for many
years. He is always looking for innovations within the
vast array of garden plants. In 1989, his enduring interest
in Ilex led him to sow seeds of Ilex crenata from various
sources.
1957 19841971
®
Royal Palace Garden
Het Loo
Ilex Crenata Dark Green was the choice of Palace Het Loo, after
3 years of intense testing and comparing of various alternatives.
Willem Zieleman - head gardener of Palace Het Loo - proudly
plants the first specimen.
Dealing with the diseases of Box asks for a thorough approach
…
… but the reward is to see the historical gardens restored to
their original grandeur.
6 Naturally Ilex
Naturally Ilex 7
D uring the restoration work in the Baroque gar-den of Het Loo Palace in the Netherlands, it was decided to remove the Buxus hedges due
to blight. After a number of very extensive trials, it was decided to use Ilex crenata ‘Dark Green’® as the new hedge plant. After a first plantation in the Upper Garden, this was quickly followed by planting in the Queen’s and King’s gardens at each side of the palace. The first phase of the planting work was completed in 2013.
Het Loo’s head gardener, Willem Zieleman, explains: “Since the planting that was done in the 1980s, the Queen’s and King’s gardens had not been renovated and were badly in need of major maintenance. The
boxwood hedges were weak and had been affected by box blight. By planting Ilex, we are restoring the garden to its full glory. It was decided to use Ilex Crenata ‘Dark Green’® for its close resemblance to the original Buxus Sempervirens and its excellent resistance to moulds and viruses.”
At Het Loo, a total of 27 kilometres of boxwood hedges will be replaced by Ilex Crenata ‘Dark Green’®. Besides the close resemblance to Buxus, this cultivar has den-se growth and the plant lends itself to being kept low. Zieleman: “What stands out is the strong growth, its resistance to cold, and the fact that the plant accepts pruning very well.”
Royal Palace Garden
Het Loo
Apeldoorn
Rounded formsfor large andsmall gardens
8 Naturally Ilex
Spheres and clouds
B oth Ilex Crenata, ‘Dark Green’, and Blondie can be pruned successfully into a whole range of shapes, from hedges to geometric forms and columns. The more the plant is clipped, the more dense and crisp the outline becomes. Hedges and topiary forms became the strong
architectural framework of any garden, playing a particularly important role in winter months.
The fashion for taming and shaping nature through skilled topiary and hedges - so beautifully executed in the gardens of Versailles, designed by Le Notre for Louis XIV - is alive and flourishing on a smaller scale in our gardens today.
Naturally Ilex 9
Rounded formsfor large andsmall gardens
Round forms inpainting
T he painting style of the Russian-French painter and graphic artist Wassily Kandinsky initially was part of expressionism. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Kandinsky gave shape to abstract art. Music was an important inspiration for him. According to his sound- colour theory, each colour has its own
language and expression, and every colour has its own soul. For instance, Kandinsk y tried to translate musical compositions into paintings. He heard the music in colours and in colours he saw the music. Round forms are a central theme of these paintings.
10 Naturally Ilex
C apel Manor Gardens in Enfield, North London, could
be described as an oasis for every garden lovers, in
that 60 themed gardens and landscapes are spread
over an area of 30 hectares.
Hundreds of prospective horticulturalists and landscape de-
signers regularly use this site as a valuable reference both for
inspirational ideas and practical application.
Capel Manor showcases many examples of plants used in
hedging. Not only the familiar but also more innovative varieties
can be compared in-situ. Ilex Crenata Dark Green® was recent-
ly introduced in a show garden the size of a typical urban plot,
where the central circular lawn is surrounded by a perennial
border. The border is framed by a circular hedge, reinforcing
the contours of the lawn. Whilst the hedge plants used are only
60cm high, a weathering steel structure clearly indicates the
CapelManor Gardensoasis for everygarden lover
Naturally Ilex 11
CapelManor Gardensoasis for everygarden lover
ultimate growth height intentioned for the hedge with slopes
from high to low. Andy Moreham who was involved in the
purchase of the Ilex Crenata Dark Green® in this instance finds
the cultivar is a good plant for low hedges. “Our experience
has been excellent. The plants look healthy and the growth is
outstanding”.
North-Londen
12 Naturally Ilex12 Naturally Ilex
Lines and blocks
B oth Ilex crenata ‘Dark Green®’ and ‘Blondie®’ can be pruned into any desired shape without problems. Aside from hedges in various shapes and sizes, block forms and columns are also possible. The more it is pruned, the more compact the plant becomes. In particular, the hedge shapes emphasise the basic
design of every garden all year round. We especially recognise these strict lines from the French garden style in which André Le Notre is by far the best-known landscape architect. In the 17th century, he designed the gardens at the Palace of Versailles for Louis XIV. The Sun King also expressed his power with the many hedges in the palace garden. With the extensive pruning, he set nature to his hand. Precise shapes like those at Versailles can still be found in many gardens to this day.
Straight linesand block
formsfor large andsmall gardens
Naturally Ilex 13
Straight lines inpainting art
P iet Mondriaan is by far the best known artist for his use of straight lines in painting. When he came to Paris in 1911, he discovered cubism. Full of enthusiasm, he threw himself into this art form. At first he only painted in black lines, with additions limited to grey and white. Later, he
expanded his pallet with the primary colours red, blue and yellow. In that era, together with other artists he established the journal “De Stijl”,to become later an art movement. Mondriaans works from that period made him famous worldwide.
14 Naturally Ilex
I n a villa garden in a leafy suburb of Brussels, it was deci-
ded to use Ilex Crenata ‘Blondie’®, in the organically sha-
ped labyrinth in front of the house and against the dark
fringe of the forest at the back. A total of almost 1,000 plants
were used, of which some were as high as a person and some
at knee height. A deliberate choice was made to use the cul-
tivar ‘Blondie’® for the colour effect of the light green young
foliage that later turns dark in colour.
Brussels
Naturally Ilex 15
In the darker forest’s edge, ‘Blondie’® fills the openings in the
vegetation under the leaf canopy of the trees growing above.
Here, the bushes are only lightly pruned so that they can
develop naturally. In the labyrinth, the bushes are trimmed
regularly to ultimately create a labyrinth of wavy, organic but
solid walls. Sometimes these walls are only one plant thick,
sometimes low plants are pressed against the high ones so
that the ‘green walls’ increase in width.
The relatively heavy soil of Brussels made it necessary to
condition the soil before planting. Once established, the roots
can also find their way through the loamy clay soil of Brussels.
A humus rich organic compost was added to improve
drainage and nutrient balance.
VillaGarden
in leafysuburb
16 Naturally Ilex
What is the growth pattern of Ilex Crenata ‘Blondie’® & ‘Dark Green’®?
‘Dark Green’® and ‘Blondie’® are narrow and ver-tical and have dense branching, making them excellent for both low and head-high hedges. Heights up to 2 - 3 metres are easily achieved.
How is Ilex Crenata ‘Blondie’® different from ‘Dark Green’®?
Ilex Crenata ‘Blondie’® makes shoots up to ± 40 cm per year after the year it is planted, Ilex Crenata ‘Dark Green’® up to about 30 cm. The evergreen leaf of ‘Blondie’® is ovoid to elliptical and emerges light green in the spring. In the summer, the leaf is bright green. The evergreen leaf of ‘Dark Green’® is oval and emerges bright green. The leaf quickly becomes dark green after emerging.
Do the cultivars of Ilex crenata produce flowers and berries?
For both cultivars, the bloom is subtle with creamy white flowers and small black berries - loved by the birds - follow flowering.
What type of root systems do the Ilex crenata cultivars have?
The plants have shallow rooting, with a fine and tightly branched root structure.
Frequently askedQUESTIONS
‘Dark Green®’ ‘Blondie®’
‘Dark Green®’ ‘Blondie®’
For more information see also: www.ilexselect.com
Naturally Ilex 17
What is the best planting location?
Ilex Crenata ‘Dark Green’® and ‘Blondie’® grow best in the full sun or semi-shade. The plants cope with deep shade under trees, but there the leaves quickly become dark in colour. The soil must be humus rich, high in nutrients and pre-ferably slightly moist. Good permeability is impor-tant, heavy clay soil and/or a high groundwater require careful preparation with the incorporation of humus rich compost to open soil and improve drainage & nutrient balance. Best growth occurs in neutral to slightly acidic soil.
What is the best time to plant?
The best planting time for seedlings is from Octo-ber to May, depending on the weather conditions (not during a period of frost). Plants in containers can be planted year round. It is advisable to use organic fertiliser, as this also stimulates soil life. The effect of organic fertilizer also lasts longer than that of artificial fertilizer. With dry soil, good water management is important.
What is the best pruning period?
Ilex crenata lends itself very well to pruning into hedges, spheres, blocks, pyramids or topiary forms.Pruning is done at least twice per year, preferably in the early summer and once in September or October. By pruning twice, the plant continues to branch well and the trimmed shape is main-tained. Pruning on hot days is not advisable, in order to avoid leaf scorch . A major advantage of Ilex Crenata ‘Dark Green’® and Blondie’® is that the cultivars recover well from old wood.
Frequently askedQUESTIONS ®
For more information see also: www.ilexselect.com
18 Naturally Ilex
Mechanical removal
Open soil cultivation
Homogeneity through mechanical maintenance of plantsOptimal loading
The NURSERY
Naturally Ilex 19
Open field cultivation
Making root balls
Mechanical uprooting
Plant stock
Container cultivation
®
Ilex [email protected]