Sunny Foster Holly
Ilex x attenuata 'Sunny Foster'
Common Names: Topel Holly, Fosteri Holly
Plant Details
USDA Plant Hardiness Zones: 6a-9b Find Your Zone
Plant Type: Evergreen Shrub or Tree
Height at Maturity: 15-30' depending on pruning
Width at Maturity: 8-15' depending on pruning
Spacing Recommendations: 7-8' for solid hedge or privacy screen; 18'+ for space between plants
Growth Habit / Form: Upright Pyramid
Growth Rate: Moderate to Fast
Flower Color: White
Flower Size: Small, inconspicuous
Flowering Period: Spring
Flower Type:
Fragrant Flowers: No
Foliage Color: Bright Yellow New Leaves mature to Dark Green
Fragrant Foliage: No
Berries: Yes
Berry Color: Brilliant Red
Sun Needs: Full Sun or Mostly Sun, Morning Sun with Dappled or Afternoon Shade, All Day Lightly Filtered Sun, Morning Shade with Evening Sun
Water Needs: Average, Low when established
Soil Type: Clay, Loam, Sandy, Silty
Soil Moisture / Drainage: Moist but Well-Drained
Soil pH: 5.5 - 7
Maintenance / Care: Low to Average
Attracts: Birds, Beneficial Pollinators, Visual Attention
Resistances: Deer - more info, Disease, Drought (when established), Heat, Insect, Clay Soil
Description
An offspring of the ever-popular 'Foster 2' Holly introduced by the U.S. National Arboretum, Ilex × attenuata 'Sunny Foster', commonly called Sunny Foster Holly, is much like its upright pyramidal growing parent but with unique, brightly variegated golden foliage that is sure to light up the landscape. New leaves emerge a bright yellow in spring over dark emerald green mature leaves. The more sun it gets the brighter the leaves, so we suggest full sun, which is 7 hours or more of direct sunlight per day. Beneficial pollinators will enjoy the tiny white flowers in spring, which are followed by LOADS of brilliant red berries in fall persisting through winter, with no need for a pollinator. Very adaptable, Sunny Foster is very easy to grow with very little if any maintenance, unless of course you want to trim it occasionally for a more formal appearance.
Landscape & Garden Uses
Growing 15 to 30 feet in height and 8 to 15 feet wide (depending on pruning), the Sunny Foster Holly is ideal for use as a specimen or to frame corners of tall homes and other buildings, or in privacy screen plantings or to delineate a property line or line a drive. Also suitable for use in containers and to decorate as an outdoor Christmas tree. A fine addition to yellow theme gardens, holly gardens, wildlife gardens, beneficial pollinator gardens, bird and wildlife gardens, and formal gardens if you want to keep it trimmed to a tight, more formal pyramid.
Suggested Spacing: 7-8' for solid privacy screens and hedges; 18' or more for space between trees
Growing Preferences
The Sunny Foster Holly is exceptionally easy to grow. It adapts to many soils preferring a moist but well-drained acidic soil of average fertility. Foliage color will be brighter and more berries produced in full to mostly sun however you can expect a good crop even with some shade. We suggest 7 hours or more of direct sunlight per day. It is a very low maintenance tree. That said, if a tight, more formal shape is desired it can be trimmed a couple times a year, though doing so might remove the berries. Because it forms a dense pyramid on its own, we only selectively prune to remove a stray stem here or there that might be spoiling the shape.
Important Note: Any heavy pruning after spring flowering will reduce or eliminate berry production.
Helpful Articles
Click on a link below to get helpful advice from our experts on how to plant and care for a Holly tree.
How To Plant A Holly Tree In The Ground Or In Pots
How To Prune A Holly Bush Or Tree
How To Fertilize & Water A Holly Tree
Privacy Screen Design And Planting Tips
Plant Long & Prosper!
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