Dear Neil: I planted two small Japanese yews a year ago to act as privacy screening plants. They have grown well, but I can already tell it will take too long for them to give the privacy I need. Can ...

Dear Neil: I’m planting Nellie R. Stevens hollies along our 6-foot privacy fence and will top it at 8 feet. How far a part should I space them, and how far should they be away from the fence 18, 24 or ...

Holly might not normally seem like a large enough plant to use for privacy, but that's not the case with this cultivar. Nellie Stevens holly (Ilex 'Nellie R. Stevens') can actually reach heights of 30 ...

When we moved to our current house, very little landscaping had been done. In the area that now is my cottage garden, there was a hawthorn tree growing that was brushing against the south side of the ...

DEAR NEIL: When should I prune my Nellie R. Stevens holly? How much can I trim it? Dear Reader: The best time to trim and reshape any evergreen shrub is late winter, a few weeks before the burst of ...

DEAR NEIL: If I wanted to grow a Nellie R. Stevens holly as a tree, how would I train it? I see nice shrubs in the nursery. What should I be looking for? Dear Reader: If you want a single-trunk tree ...

Dear Neil: I need a tall screen for our backyard. It needs to be evergreen, and I’d like it to grow to be 10 or 12 feet tall. It’s rather shady. What would you suggest? A: Nellie R. Stevens holly ...

: I see varying information. How tall will a Nellie R. Stevens holly grow? I need a short row of a screening shrub that will grow at least 10 or 12 feet tall. : Nellie R. Stevens holly would be ideal.