Ilex I. aquifolium x I. latifolia (EYE-leks keh-nee-AN-nah)
Family: AquifoliaceaeUnknownUnderstory (15-40 ft)
Understory (15-40 ft)Unknown
'San Jose' is a female cultivar of the Koehne holly with an erect, narrow-pyramidal, densely-branched form. It is a member of the holly family (Aquifoliaceae). 'San Jose' grows well in medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. Although rather cold hardy, it does best when protected from cold winter winds. Partial afternoon shade should be available to the site if grown in hot summer climates. Prune in winter if needed. This large evergreen shrub or small tree typically grows to 20 to 25 feet tall with a spread of 12 to 15 feet wide. Branches are clad with glossy, spiny-margined, elliptic, evergreen, dark green leaves (2 to 3 inches long). Fragrant but tiny, greenish-white flowers bloom in May. If pollinated by a male plant, flowers give way to berry-like red drupes (⅓ of an inch in diameter) that ripen in fall and persist into winter. Birds are attracted to the fruit. Grow this holly in a winter garden or pollinator garden. It can serve as a screen, accent, hedge or specimen. Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: Potential insect problems include holly leafminer, spider mites, whitefly and scale. Potential disease problems include leaf spot, leaf rot, tar spot and powdery mildew. Plants are also susceptible to leaf drop, leaf scorch and chlorosis (yellowing of leaves in high pH soils). The Clemson Cooperative Extension Home and Garden Information Center has a factsheet on common diseases and insect pests. VIDEO created by Andy Pulte for “Landscape Plant Identification, Taxonomy and Morphology” a plant identification course offered by the Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee. More information on Ilex x koehneana .
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Often confused withIlex x koehneanaIlex x koehneana 'Martha Berry'