Plant field guide
Holly (Soft Touch)
Dwarf compact Japanese holly with uniquely soft-textured foliage. Tiny dense leaves create a fine-textured mound perfect for borders, edging, and small foundations. A boxwood alternative.
Growing requirements
- Scientific name
- Ilex crenata 'Soft Touch'
- Sun
- partial shade
- Water
- moderate
- Height
- 18 in (46 cm) – 36 in (91 cm)
- Spread
- 24 in (61 cm) – 36 in (91 cm)
- Spacing
- Not recorded
- Hardiness zones & minimum temperature
- USDA 5–9; average annual extreme minimum from -20°F (-28.9°C). Hardiness does not predict local frost dates.
- Difficulty
- easy
Planting & seasonal timing
Northern Hemisphere planting months: not yet verified in our database.
Northern Hemisphere pruning months: April, May.
For the Southern Hemisphere, these seasonal windows shift approximately six months. Check your local frost forecast, soil temperature, and species requirements; calendar months are not a guarantee of planting safety.
Great boxwood substitute. Compact and dense without pruning. Tolerates more shade than most hollies. Deer resistant. Needs acidic soil.
Pruning
Light shaping if needed in spring. Naturally maintains compact mounding form.
Fertilizer
Holly-Tone or acidic fertilizer
Early spring
Mulch
2 inches of organic mulch.