Ilex Crenata Golden Soft Touch #3

If you are looking to brighten up your landscape with foundation planting but are tired of the same old green boxwoods, you need to meet one of our best-sellers the 'Golden Soft Touch' Holly.

This plant is rapidly becoming a favorite here at Mitchell’s because it solves two problems at once: it adds year-round sunshine to your garden, and it won't bite when you touch it. The leaves are small, glossy, and remarkably soft, making this shrub a pleasure to handle.

In the King and Winston-Salem area, where heavy clay can sometimes be a challenge, the Golden Soft Touch is a resilient little worker. It creates a neat, low-mounding cushion of gold and green that looks manicured without you actually having to manicure it every weekend.

Why we recommend them for NC Piedmont Triad yards:

• The Soft Touch Effect: The foliage sports a brilliant golden-yellow hue on new growth, which creates a stunning contrast against dark mulch, red brick, or other green shrubs. It’s an evergreen spotlight in your garden beds.

• Pet & Kid Friendly: Because it lacks the sharp spines of traditional hollies, this is the perfect choice for lining walkways, framing your front steps, or planting near patios where the kids run barefoot.

• Compact & Tidy: This isn't a monster shrub that will eat your windows. It naturally stays low and dense, maintaining a rounded shape that requires very little pruning to look professional.

Best Used For: Brightening up dark corners, low hedges along sidewalks, contrasting accents in rock gardens, and container gardening.

The Golden Soft Touch is a dwarf variety, typically topping out at a manageable 2–3 feet tall and wide. To get that vibrant gold color, it loves a spot with plenty of sun (though it handles part shade just fine, the color may be more lime-green). Like most Japanese hollies, it appreciates well-draining soil—so don't plant it in a swamp!

For more technical details on how Ilex crenata varieties perform in our zone, check out the NC State Extension Plant Toolbox entry or ask one of us on your visit.