The 'Dragon Lady' Perny-English Holly (Ilex x aquipernyi) is a hybrid cultivar from the hybridization of the English Holly of Europe with the Perny Holly of central Asia. I believe "she" was developed by Mrs. F. Leighton Meserve of St James, New York along with the many Meserve Holly crosses of the English Holly with the Prostrate Holly (Ilex prostrata) from Asia. She is somewhat commonly planted in southeast Pennsylvania and nearby Delaware and Maryland, and sold by a good number of conventional nurseries. This female (pistillate) cultivar does not bear a lot of the pea-sized red berries unless there is a male pollinator nearby as the 'Blue Stallion' or 'Blue Prince' Meserve Hollies. The leaves are extremely sharp-spined like the parent Perny Holly and I have never liked to have to prune or work around the small tree, as it can be painful. I remember one account in a front yard where I had to get up on a ladder to prune two tall specimens about 15 to 20 feet high that was not a pleasant experience. She is pretty to look at with her dark, shiny foliage, but watch out. I believe the plant is adaptable to a pH up to about 7.0.

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