Source: The Tree Center (MD)
Size shipped: #1 pot (measured 1'6")
Planted: In ground, April 2020 (then transplanted elsewhere May 2021)
First flowering: At the nursery
Buy one at PlantingTree.com (affiliate link; supports this website)
(This plant stayed behind when I moved in 2021; therefore, the following text will receive no further updates.)
Let me say that I don't like the looks of the Nellie's foliage as much as I like 'Mary Nell', or 'Liberty' ('Conty'), or even the blue hollies (Ilex x meserveae, such as 'Heckenstar' and 'Hachfee'). The main reason I got it is because almost everyone agrees it's basically the fastest-growing holly you can get with the traditional holly look, and since at the time I bought it we were planning to move from the house within four years, I need plants that can grow fast.
I had to try to bareroot this one as much as possible before planting, as despite the small #1 size,
the roots were still a potbound mess. Maybe nothing going all the way around the pot,
but it was still very difficult to loosen up. This time I got the backfill soil wetted into a pretty
good muddy slurry, so it ought to have filled in the spaces between the roots satisfactorily.
(Two other trees I got from The Tree Center, the Castle
Spire holly and the first Mr. Bowling Ball arborvitae, had similar problems, even if the October Magic
Ruby camellia didn't; I'm wondering if some genera are just more prone to this than others.
It's worth noting that the Dragon Lady holly, which I didn't get from TTC, was hopelessly rootbound;
and the Castle Wall holly doesn't make a good data point because it was tiny and in a 1-quart pot.)
In any case, that alleged fast growth wasn't on display in the Nellie's first year with us, as it wrapped up a small flush of growth on arrival and then sat there doing nothing more until late August. I'm not sure if watering more often would have prodded it along any; every time I checked, the soil seemed to be drying down rather slowly. (Maybe I needed to clip the terminal buds?)
It's also worth noting that, despite the leaf spines that show the Nellie's Ilex aquifolium parentage, this holly was not immune to deer browsing from early December 2020 through the winter; at first I could ignore it, but by March 2021 it was completely defoliated. If it doesn't grow fast and it's not avoided by deer, then what is the Nellie's advantage over one of the other hybrids which are more attractive, or even over the actual native American holly (Ilex opaca)?
May 2021 saw me move this holly to a less prominent spot away from the house, replaced by the 5-gallon Bracken's Brown Beauty magnolia I got an insane deal on at the Frelinghuysen Arboretum's annual plant sale; the result is that I don't have to feel bad if it never looks good again after having been defoliated by the wildlife, because I won't be seeing it every day.