A Proven Winners® ColorChoice® Flowering Shrubs variety, Ilex Squeeze Box™ Inkberry Holly is a native broadleaf evergreen shrub offering year-round interest. Squeeze Box is the first-ever upright, pyramidal inkberry and is a great replacement for dwarf Alberta spruce in the landscape.
An Ilex glabra, also known as inkberry or gallberry, Squeeze Box has a compact, upright, pyramidal habit and slow growth rate. Stoloniferous, it can spread by root suckers. Ilex Squeeze Box® is a male variety that will pollinate females planted within pollination range. Although the plant is great for garden beds and borders, it is also a nice formal centerpiece in a container. Massed, it makes a fine narrow hedge.
Easy to grow and maintain, inkberry holly grows best in sunny to partly sunny locations with rich, consistently moist soils having an acidic pH. It grows naturally around swamps and bogs, so it tolerates wet soils and a fair amount of shade, but neutral to alkaline soils should be avoided. Although little to no pruning is required, any desired pruning should be done in spring just before new growth emerges. It is deer resistant and salt tolerant.
A native plant, Squeeze Box inkberry holly is indigenous to North America, along the coastal plain from Nova Scotia to Florida to Louisiana. Native plants are not only beautiful but also environmentally friendly. Naturally adapted to the climate and soil conditions of the region, they thrive without fertilizers or extra watering, once established. They also act as natural pest controls, reducing the need for pesticides in the garden. Landscaping with native plants promotes biodiversity and provides shelter and quality food for wildlife and pollinators, bringing gardens to life.
