Dwarf Chinese Holly Ilex cornuta 'Carissa'

Carissa Chinese Holly is a cultivar of Ilex cornuta and is a compact, dense, broadleaf evergreen shrub in the Aquifoliaceae or holly family. It grows 3 to 4 feet tall and 3 to 6 feet wide and is a popular landscape plant. It is a much smaller version of its parent. The leaves are alternate, glossy, and dark green, and have a single tiny spine at the tip of the leaf. In the spring, clusters of fragrant white flowers emerge. Although it rarely fruits, bright red berries may be seen in the fall and winter. This plant can revert to a 'Rotunda' holly leaf form that has many spines on the leaf margins. These reversions are best pruned off of the plant. 

The Carissa Chinese Holly is dioecious, meaning individual flowers are either male or female, but only one sex is found on any one plant, so both male and female plants must be grown if seed is required. The female produces fruits (drupes or, commonly, berries) when both are present.

This shrub thrives in sun or partial shade and slightly acidic, well-drained soils. It can be pruned or shaped almost any time of year but is rarely needed. It should be fertilized in winter or early spring to maintain good leaf color and adequate growth. This shrub is drought and heat tolerant once established and particularly resistant to browsing by deer.

Carissa Chinese Holly is popular in the landscape, and it is frequently used in mass plantings on commercial properties. It is often used to form a low shrub mass around parking lots. The dense, rounded, evergreen leaves look particularly attractive as a backdrop to colorful flowering plants. It works well as a hedge, a screen, in a shrub border, or as a foundation planting. It is also appropriate in a winter, drought-tolerant, or English garden. 

Seasons of Interest:

Bloom:  Spring      Foliage:  Year-round      Fruits:  Fall and Winter, rarely observed

Quick ID Hints:

• compact, dense broadleaf evergreen shrub
• alternate, glossy, leathery, dark green leaves with a single tiny spine at the tip
• clusters of small white fragrant flowers in the spring
• small, bright red berries, rarely observed

Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: The Carissa Chinese Holly may be susceptible to scales and aphids. It has no serious disease problems.

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 cornuta.