shrub
Inkberry holly 'Shamrock'
Ilex glabra 'Shamrock'
Preview: plant data is awaiting horticulturist review. A professional horticulturist hasn't reviewed our plant table yet. Lists still follow fixed rules for zone, sun, pets, deer and invasive status.
Hardy in zones 4–9, Inkberry holly 'Shamrock' is a slow-growing evergreen shrub. It grows 3–5 ft tall and 3–5 ft wide, so plant it 3.5 ft apart. Give it full sun to part shade and average water, and it copes with wet soil. It is grown for its year-round foliage rather than its flowers. In a FloraVista list it usually plays the structure role: a shrub that holds the bed's shape at the back all year. It is native to the Northeast, the Mid-Atlantic, the Southeast and Florida and the Gulf. Deer may browse it when other food is short, and it is toxic to dogs and cats. Our rules leave it out of lists in the Desert Southwest and the Mountain West, where summer heat, humidity or mild winters hold it back even inside its zone range.
Facts from our plant table
- Botanical name
- Ilex glabra 'Shamrock'
- Plant type
- Shrub, evergreen
- Hardiness zones
- 4 to 9
- Sun
- Full sun (6+ hours); Part sun (4–6 hours); Part shade (2–4 hours)
- Water
- Medium; tolerates wet soil
- Soil
- Thrives in moist, acidic soil; tolerates wet spots.
- Mature size
- 3–5 ft tall × 3–5 ft wide
- Spacing
- 3.5 ft apart (centre to centre)
- Growth rate
- Slow
- Bloom
- Grown for foliage
- Roles in a bed
- Structure
- Styles
- modern, classic, natural
- Deer resistance
- Medium: browsed when deer are hungry
- Pets
- Toxic to dogs and cats. Holly is on the ASPCA toxic list; berries on female plants are the main risk.
- Native to
- Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast and Florida/Gulf
- Pot size and price
- 3-gallon pot, typically $30–$45 (easy to find)
- Plant in
- Spring or Fall
- First-year watering
- Water deeply once or twice a week through the first summer, more in heat waves, so the root ball never dries out.
- Pruning
- Cut leggy stems back in early spring to keep the base full.
Sources: Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder; ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant list; Rutgers NJAES deer resistance ratings (A-D); state noxious weed lists / Invasive Plant Atlas of the US; typical 2026 US garden-centre and big-box listings. Not yet reviewed by a horticulturist.
Guides that include this plant
- Modern planting for a sunny bed in zone 5
- Modern planting for a sunny bed in zone 7 (as a substitute)
- Modern planting for a sunny bed in zone 8 (as a substitute)
- Natural-style plants for a sunny bed in zone 8 (as a substitute)
- Part-shade plants for zone 8 in the Pacific Northwest (as a substitute)
Good companions
The plants our list engine most often puts in the same bed as Inkberry holly 'Shamrock', across the sun, zone, pet, deer and style combinations it fits.
- Weeping redbud 'Ruby Falls'Cercis canadensis 'Ruby Falls'small tree · zones 5–9
- Foxglove beardtongue 'Husker Red'Penstemon digitalis 'Husker Red'perennial · zones 3–8
- Bee balmMonarda didymaperennial · zones 4–9
- Dwarf mondo grass 'Nana'Ophiopogon japonicus 'Nana'groundcover · zones 7–10
- Black-eyed Susan 'Goldsturm'Rudbeckia fulgida var. sullivantii 'Goldsturm'perennial · zones 4–9
- Northern sea oatsChasmanthium latifoliumornamental grass · zones 5–9
If you can't find it
Substitutes our engine offers for Inkberry holly 'Shamrock': same role in the bed, passing the same rules.
- Dwarf boxwood 'Green Gem'Buxus 'Green Gem'zones 4–8 · flagged toxic to pets
- Korean boxwood 'Wintergreen'Buxus sinica var. insularis 'Wintergreen'zones 4–9 · flagged toxic to pets
- Walter's viburnum 'Mrs. Schiller's Delight'Viburnum obovatum 'Mrs. Schiller's Delight'zones 7–10 · not flagged toxic to pets
- Dwarf yaupon holly 'Nana'Ilex vomitoria 'Nana'zones 7–10 · flagged toxic to pets
How this page was made
This page was generated from this plant's record in FloraVista's plant table by fixed rules. The companions and substitutes come from the lists our rules engine composes. No named expert has reviewed this page.
Data status: the plant table is awaiting review by a horticulturist. Check each plant with a local nursery or extension office before you buy.
Sources
- Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder, state extension services and the USDA PLANTS database (zones, size, sun, water, bloom, native range)
- ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists (dog and cat toxicity)
- Rutgers NJAES and regional extension deer-resistance ratings
- State noxious-weed and invasive-plant lists and the Invasive Plant Atlas of the US
- Typical US garden-centre listings (pot size and price band)
Generated . How FloraVista chooses plants