Ilex prices: what 30 varieties actually cost

Across the 30 Ilex varieties we currently track prices for, the range is $15.99 to $89.95, with a median of $37.00. The cheapest we see today is Sky Pencil Holly at $15.99; the priciest is Sparkleberry Winterberry at $89.95. Price tracks size and rarity more than anything else — a small plug of a common variety and a mature specimen of a new introduction are different products.

Mostly pot size. The same variety sold as a bare-root division, a quart, and a three-gallon shrub can differ several-fold, and nurseries do not label sizes consistently. We record the listed price for each offer and show the lowest, so compare the size on the nursery's own page before assuming the cheapest is the best value.

From daily price checks across the mail-order nurseries we track. We record current offers rather than retailer-supplied "compare at" pricing, and each plant page shows the lowest current nursery price in that data.

Watch the discount breadth rather than the sticker. Our price index tracks what share of plants are discounted on any given day against the recent norm, which is a better buy signal than any single listing. End-of-season clearances are real, but so is picked-over stock.