Sky Pencil Holly
Ilex crenata ‘Sky Pencil’ · a columnar Japanese holly
A slim, upright holly that holds its narrow column without any pruning, a striking accent by a door, in pots or as a hedge in the tightest space, in sun or part shade. Give it acid, well-drained soil and shelter from cold, drying wind; it dislikes drought and alkaline soil.
- Mature size
- 8 × 2 ft
- 2.4 × 0.6 m, tall × wide
- Hardiness
- Zones 5a–8b
- USDA
- Sun
- Full sun to part shade
- Water
- Medium
- Blooms
- May
Sky Pencil Holly at its mature size
A mature Sky Pencil Holly grows 4 to 10 feet tall and 1 to 3 feet wide, taller than most people.
Drawn to scale beside a 5 ft 9 in person. With VeraScape, you see it at this size in your own yard.
Typical mature size, unpruned. Sources: NC State Extension, The Tree Center.
Through the year
What Sky Pencil Holly looks like month by month in a typical zone 6–7 garden.
In leaf · Year-round
Small glossy dark green leaves, evergreen.
Growing Sky Pencil Holly
- Grows well in
- The Northeast, the Southeast, and the Pacific Northwest.
- Growth rate
- Slow
- Good for
- Privacy screen, hedge, and small space
- Leaves
- Evergreen
- Native to
- Japan and Korea
Spacing for a hedge
VeraScape spaces plants so their grown canopies just touch. For Sky Pencil Holly, that’s about 2 ft apart, center to center.
Place a row in your own yard and VeraScape spaces them at their mature width, so you can see whether they’ll crowd the walk.
See Sky Pencil Holly in your yard before you dig
Visualize it at its true size, alongside the rest of your design.
Other hollies
Inkberry HollySky Pencil Holly
Castle Spire Holly
Winterberry HollyAll drawn to the same scale.