large gallberry
Ilex coriacea · Aquifoliaceae
large gallberry (Ilex coriacea) is a perennial shrub in the Aquifoliaceae family. It is native to North America. USDA records it as hardy in zone 7 and warmer, down to about 7°F.
At a glance
| Type | shrub Derived |
|---|---|
| Lifecycle | perennial USDA |
| Native status | native USDA |
| Mature height | 12 ft USDA |
| Light | shade USDA |
| Water need | high USDA |
| Growth rate | moderate USDA |
| Soil pH | 5.5–6.7 USDA |
| Bloom | May–June USDA |
| Flower color | White USDA |
| Hardiness zones | 7 and warmer USDA |
| Guild layer | shrub Derived |
| Nursery availability | Routinely Available USDA |
USDA quoted from the USDA PLANTS database · Derived computed by a fixed rule from those columns. No value on this page is estimated.
Growing conditions
It tolerates full shade. USDA rates it as having needs consistently moist ground. Its drought tolerance is rated low. It tolerates saturated, poorly drained ground well (USDA rates its anaerobic tolerance high). It is recorded on soils from pH 5.5 to 6.7 — a broad range that spans acidic through mildly alkaline ground. Its cold limit is zone 7.
Size and growth
At maturity it reaches about 12 ft, making it a small tree or large shrub. It grows at a moderate rate.
Bloom period
USDA records a bloom period of May through June. Flowers are white.
A flowering date, not a pollinator rating.
Foliage, flower and season
Summer foliage is dark green, medium in texture. Its flowers are not conspicuous — a plant for form and foliage. It carries conspicuous autumn colour. Its fruit or seed heads are conspicuous, extending interest past flowering. Its active growth period is spring and summer. Its winter foliage is dense, which makes it useful for year-round screening. USDA rates its lifespan as moderate.
What the site needs to provide
USDA records it across sites receiving 30 to 70 inches of annual precipitation. It needs at least 200 frost-free days to finish its season. It roots to at least 16 inches. Fertility requirement: medium.
Propagating it
It takes readily from seed, cuttings, bare root and container stock. Seed needs cold stratification — a period of moist chilling — before it will germinate, so sow in autumn or chill it artificially before a spring sowing. Its seed spreads at a slow rate.
Resilience and wildlife
Its fire tolerance is rated none, and it can resprout after damage. Its growth form is recorded as thicket forming.
Role in a guild
Shrub layer. In a layered planting this is woody mid-level structure between the understory and the ground. The layer is derived by a fixed rule from growth habit and mature height.
Tags
Related plants
Others in Ilex
- sarvis holly Ilex amelanchier
- dahoon Ilex cassine
- Chinese holly Ilex cornuta
- Japanese holly Ilex crenata
Similar role and hardiness
- fourwing saltbush Atriplex canescens
- big saltbush Atriplex lentiformis
- coyotebrush Baccharis pilularis
- Eastern Mojave buckwheat Eriogonum fasciculatum
- California buckthorn Frangula californica
Where this data comes from
Every value on this page comes from the USDA PLANTS database record for symbol ILCO, or is computed from those values by a fixed rule. Nothing here is estimated or model-generated. Where USDA publishes no value, this page omits the claim rather than filling the gap.
- Quoted from USDA PLANTS: active growth period, Bloom, Bloom end, cold stratification, Drought tolerance, fall conspicuous, fertility requirement, fire tolerance, Flower color, flower conspicuous, foliage color, foliage porosity winter, foliage texture, frost free days min, fruit conspicuous, growth form, Growth rate, Hardiness zones, Lifecycle, lifespan, Light, Mature height, Minimum temperature, Native status, Nitrogen fixation, Nursery availability, precipitation max in, precipitation min in, propagation, resprout ability, root depth in, seed spread rate, Soil pH, Soil pH (upper), Tolerance of wet soil, Toxicity, Water need.
- Derived by a fixed rule from those columns: Guild layer, Type.
Read our full data sources and methodology.
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