Dwarf Chinese Holly Ilex cornuta 'Carissa'

Ilex 'Carissa' is a cultivar of I. cornuta. At 4 feet tall and 6 feet wide, it is a smaller version of its parent, but makes an excellent formal shrub. This compact plant is drought and heat tolerant once established and has dense, rounded, evergreen leaves that look particularly attractive as a backdrop to colorful flowering plants. It thrives in the sun or partial shade and in slightly acidic well-drained soils. 'Carissa' is less cold hardy than another small I. cornuta cultivar, 'Dwarf Burford', but is just as easily transplantable.  Its large leathery leaves with a single spine at the tip are glossy, provide a coarse texture in the landscape, and remain attractive all year.  Its flowers are fairly insignificant, though fragrant, and unlike the parent, does not produce many of the traditional red fruits.  

The specific epithet "cornuta' means horn-shaped. The plant 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). You can use 'Carissa' as a hedge, a screen, in a shrub border, or foundation planting. It can be pruned almost any time of year; however, pruning is rarely necessary as it maintains its rounded shape. It should be fertilized lightly each spring and fall.  

This shrub is particularly resistant to browsing by deer.

Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: This plant has few pest 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.