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Midwestguy
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Posts: 54
Joined: Tue Jun 26, 2012 9:43 am
Location: Kansas

Carissa Holly Questions

Does anyone know how drought tolerant Carissa Holly is? I may be planting a row of these along the south foundation of my house. They will be under very harsh conditions with full hot sun, radiated heat from the house, drought, and wind.
Wilson Bros Nursery says it tolerates extreme cold or heat and is very drought tolerant. Sooner Plant farm doesn't specify that they are drought tolerant.
Does anyone have any experience with this Carissa Holly? Is it prone to disease or fungus or insect infestation? Please let me know. Thanks.

Hortman
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Posts: 156
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2010 12:00 pm
Location: Chicago area

Hello Midwestguy. Ken here in the Chicago area. The Sunset Western Garden Book
says that all hollies need regular water. That says to me no drought tolerance at all.
Your Carissa Holly (Ilex cornuta ‘Carissa’) is a Chinese holly. It says to give protection
from hot sun in desert climates. Kansas isn’t a desert (you couldn’t tell this year) but
it gets its share of heat. The only pest I could find for hollies is scale.
Might I suggest trying Pinus mugo mugo (Mugo Pine). It gets to the same height as
the holly but can take all the heat, cold, and drought of your area. It is also subject
to scale. I hope this helps. Take care.

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Midwestguy
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Joined: Tue Jun 26, 2012 9:43 am
Location: Kansas

Thanks, Ken. I was wondering about that. I used to have Lantana 'Camara' planted along the south foundation, and they did great. They are a perennial along the south side of my house and grow back from the main stem each year. I moved them to another part of this south foundation. I may plant some more lantanas where the weigelas are at again, but I may use 'New Gold' or 'Miss Huff Hardy'. this time to give me a little more variety.

twittel
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Posts: 38
Joined: Tue Jul 12, 2011 5:24 pm
Location: Central North Carolina

MidwestGuy:

I'm in droughty, hot sandhills of North Carolina and have Carrissa Holly across the west side of my house. The plants are thriving, huge and I usually trim them twice a year! I have not observed any drought-related issues with these bushes. This month our temps have been 100+ and the bushes are thriving nicely. Last year, my Carrissa Holly flowered which I think is very unusual for my climate. By the way, my soil is very sandy, but I do not water these bushes. Whatever rain they get is it. Of course, I watered them extensively during their first year of planting. The bushes are about 6 years old. Hope this helps.

Happy Gardening.

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Midwestguy
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Joined: Tue Jun 26, 2012 9:43 am
Location: Kansas

twittel,

During that first year, did your Carissa Hollies scorch at all?

twittel
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Posts: 38
Joined: Tue Jul 12, 2011 5:24 pm
Location: Central North Carolina

Midwestguy:

No scorching. I keep a garden journal and I would have made a note of such. But remember, during that first year planting, I did water them weekly.

Happy Gardening

twittel



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