If pollinated, its flowers develop into black fruits. columnar Japanese holly is the perfect accent plant for setting off shrubs with rounded forms and larger leaves.

Japanese holly (I. crenata): Evergreen shrub or small tree growing from 1 to 15 feet tall. Leaves are deep green and small, with dense growth more similar to a boxwood than a holly.

WHAT: The Sky Pencil variety of ilex crenata is a narrow columnar Japanese holly that has dark, lustrous evergreen foliage. In the fall, it produces purple berries that attract birds.

It is slow-growing and may reach only 3 feet high and a foot wide in 10 years. Grow this columnar Japanese holly in full sun or part shade in well-drained soil.