English Holly 'Golden Queen'

This species has naturalized widely on the west coast from British Columbia to southern California. It's harmless further east, but CAL-I...Read MorePC has put this on the list of plants that invade and damage natural habitat in California.

This is less hardy than our native Ilex opaca. Dirr gives its useful range in eastern N. America as Z6b to Z7b. Good south into Z10 on the west coast, where summers are cooler.

The fruits cause vomiting if ingested but are not seriously poisonous.

This wonderful holly was in the front garden of a six year old bungalow in Durham City center in cold NE England about 15 mins from the c...Read Moreold North Sea. It stood alone near a small group of conifers relatively exposed to the winds with (at best) 6hrs of sun per day in a cloudy part of the world.
I owned the home for 8yrs and totally ignored the tree as I worked overseas mostly. It thrived regardless and grew from 6ft to at least 8ft during that time at between 2'6" to 3ft dia fairly evenly in the fashion of a conifer. Laden with bright red berries for long periods it was an eye catcher receiving many compliments. No suckering. No growth from the falling seeds or bird carry deposits. I cut chunks off for Xmas decor with no repercussions. The only downside was the flowers are insignificant, otherwise I recommend the Ilex Aquifolium Golden Queen as a highly desirable, slow but easy to grow, showstopper with nothing adverse at all. So disappointing that Canada is afraid to allow us to import it in case it spreads? It has never spread naturally in the UK so why would it in the much more difficult climate of Canada?