Shrubs - Holly (page 1)
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  (January) We moved from Russellville to Benton the end of July. The beds have not been kept up and are overgrown. I need help with the when and how much to prune. I have Crape Myrtle on the corners of the house and around the deck that are 18 to 20 feet tall. Can I cut these back to 8 to 10 feet? The Boxwood are four feet and the holly are eight feet high. How much can these be cut back and when? I also have overgrown azaleas. Shouldn't I wait until after they bloom before cutting and moving? I will appreciate any advice you can give.

  Why do you want to cut the crape myrtle back that much? If they have a nice shape and are growing well, and are not blocking a view, I wouldn't prune that severely. I think they are stunning small trees. If you need to prune, they can be pruned in late February or March. Selective thinning would be better than a general shearing. For the hollies and boxwoods, prune them back to the desired height. If that means taking off more than one third of the plant, try to get that done before spring growth kicks in--usually March or April is best. General light shaping can be done at any time. For the azaleas, wait until after bloom to prune and move.

  (January) I have some Compacta Japanese Holly that are four years old. When is the best time to prune or shape them?

  Light shaping of evergreens can be done at any time. More severe pruning is best done in the spring. This will allow for quick recovery. Pruning severely in the summer produces slower new growth, and pruning in the fall or winter, exposes the plants to potential winter damage.

  (February) I have several yaupon hollies in my yard. A few I need to move to a different location, and some they need pruning. The ones I would like to move are several years old and are approximately 3' tall and 2 to 4' in diameter. Are these difficult to move and hope for them to live? Should I prune the root system on moving them? Should I give up and buy new ones? What precautions should I use to give them a fighting chance to survive the move, such as root stimulator? For those that I am leaving, and simply need to prune, when should they be pruned and how severely can I prune?

  Yaupon's are tough plants and can be easily moved and pruned as needed. Get as big of a root ball as practical, and move them while they are dormant. Our ground has been fairly dry, so moving now should work -- any time between now and early March is still considered the dormant season. You will be pruning the roots as you lift them -- the root system should be fairly widespread. Prune the upper portion as needed to make the move easier. Water and mulch, and they should recover and re-establish themselves in a season. For pruning needs, if they need more than shaping, prune them as new growth is about to begin in early spring. They can be pruned by 1/3- 1/2 or more, and still be expected to leaf out, but we like to catch the spurt of new growth in the spring, for faster recovery. If you simply need some shaping, that can be done at any season.

  (March) We have some overgrown hollies that are 15 feet tall. Can these be cut back? We would like to cut them back severely. When is the best time and how much.

  I would try to get them pruned back any time from now through early April. Your goal is to try to catch the early spring growth flush, so you can have some growth back quickly. Often when we do severe pruning--removing one third or more, we can be left with bushes devoid of leaves. There are dormant leaf buds on the old wood, which will sprout out, but more quickly in the spring than in summer or fall. You can take them back by one half or even more, but it is not something you should do annually. Also keep in mind, you won't have any berries in the years when you do prune sever.

  (March) We have two holly bushes at the corners of our house that are not bearing berries. Each bush is at least 25 years old and we keep them cut back to about 7 feet tall. The truck diameter is about six inches. Because they are on the edges of the house I would rather keep them as a bush rather than a tree. I assume we are pruning them at the wrong time of the year, which is usually towards the end of December. At times, we also do a mid-summer trim to keep them shaped up. When is the best time to trim them and still have berries?

  If you want to be assured of berries -- and the plants are female (meaning they can produce berries) you would need to allow them the opportunity to bloom, and then prune judiciously around these areas. Hollies bloom in the early spring, so do your pruning then to allow for berry set.

  (March) I have six large Althea (Rose of Sharon) bushes that are approximately 7 years old. They have been really beautiful all these years. Last year they began to get a blight or fungus and the leaves began to turn yellow. It is beginning on all of them except one. Is it too late to do anything about it, or is there something I can put on them to stop it? I really hate to lose them after all this time. I also had a Savannah Holly about 8 ft. tall and one week it was green and the next the leaves had all turned dark brown and had fallen off. It is dead I'm sure because the leaves have been gone for about 3 months. Can you tell me what happened to it? I know you would need to look at the leaves to tell, but since I don't have them, just tell me what might have caused it to do that.

  Let's start with the holly. When something dies that quickly it is usually not a disease or insect problem. Was there new construction, was anything sprayed, anything change about the site? How is the drainage where all these plants are? You would need to investigate further. On the altheas, watch them this spring. If you see signs of problems, quickly take samples to your county extension office and let them send them to the disease diagnostic lab to see if they can determine any problems. In the interim, start doing some investigation on your own. Look carefully at the plants to see if there are any cracks, holes or swelling on the stems. Make sure they don't have "lawnmower and weed-eater disease". Have your soil tested, by taking a pint of soil from the area and taking it to your local county extension office. Make sure the pH is in the proper range, and that there is no salt problem. Hopefully, with careful monitoring, you can figure out what is happening and get a handle on it. It could be a disease, but it could also be insects or nutritional problems.

  (April) We are moving to a home where there are established azalea plants in front of the house. They are very beautiful, but they are rather tall and the area close to the ground has little foliage. It is my opinion they would look better if they were shorter and fuller. I do not know how to care for them, (new mulch needs to be placed everywhere). We would like the azaleas as well as the holly bushes behind them to be shorter which will require significant pruning. My question then is regarding pruning. How much is too much? I'm thinking that if I cut them back too far I will ruin them. Also if I do any pruning at all, when should it be done and what should I expect at the next blooming season?

  Broadleaf evergreens can be cut back severely without damaging them, since they have dormant buds on the old wood. Even if you prune with no foliage left, they should sprout out again. The time to prune the azaleas would be immediately following flowering. I would go ahead and do the hollies at the same time. Follow up your pruning with an application of azalea fertilizer, and keep them watered this summer. You can cut the plants back by one half or more, but this is not something I would do annually. It may take them a year or more to fill out to the size you want, but they should bounce back fairly quickly. You should still have flowers next year, since they set flower buds at the end of the growing season, and by then, you should have a fully green bush. They may not be as showy the first season, but by the next year they will be fine.

  (April) Last summer we bought and planted three holly plants and planted them in a flower bed where we had removed azalea bushes. The azaleas always did well, but we needed a change. After planting, I put down a thick new cypress mulch. We went on vacation for five days and when we returned, we found that the middle holly was in good shape but the two end ones were dying-it started in one spot and then spread to the rest of the plant. We do have a sprinkler system and it was in use while we were gone.. We replaced the two plants shortly after this. About a week ago the end one that we had replaced is about a 1/3 dead and spreading, and the original middle plant has a small dead spot and it will probably die. Do you have any idea why these plants died. Could it be that the thick cypress mulch or the PH of the soil, or what else could have killed these plants?

  I cannot imagine any plant dying that quickly in a bed from simply the wrong pH and cypress mulch should not harm plants either. Have your soil tested at your local county extension office. Take a pint of soil from the area where the bushes are dying and a pint from where they are doing well, and compare the two. Did you put fertilizer in the planting hole? Chemical burn from chemicals or fertilizer could kill a plant, as could poor internal drainage, or other physical sight limitations. Make sure the plants weren't planted too deep. Check the site out, get the soil tested and investigate further before replanting in this area.

  (May) We've discovered this spring that the older leaves on our hollies are covered on the top with a black substance that can be scraped off. What can we do to correct this and what causes it?

  Take a look at the back side of the leaves and along the stems. I bet they are covered in tiny white specks. This is tea scale, and it has been pretty bad on many hollies this year. The scale insects suck the sap out of the foliage, and give off a sticky honeydew. Wherever the honeydew fall, black sooty mold will collect. You need to get a handle on the scale insects, because if left unchecked, they can damage and eventually kill the holly. Bayer Advanced Tree and Shrub insecticide, Di-syston and Orthene are all products that can give you control. You may need more frequent applications of some of these products, so read and follow label directions.

  (May) Do you know why the leaves of our Nellie R. Stevens Holly Trees are beginning to turn yellow? We have two that were planted about two months ago and over past two weeks the leaves have been turning yellow on both trees. They are planted in the front yard of our house which faces west.

  It could just be a bit of shock of transplant, now that the plants are beginning active growth. Give them a few months of growing to see if it doesn't correct itself, especially if it is the older leaves which are yellowing and or dropping‑‑not all of them. Make sure the plants are planted in a well‑drained location, and do water when dry. Check to see if you have any scale insects on them. These insects often get on the underside of the foliage and along the stems. Heavy infestations can cause some yellowing, but I would be surprised if you had a problem with insects this early.

  (July) Help! My three holly bushes/small trees next to my house never have any berries. When the spring growth becomes too much, I cut them back. Is that why I never see any berries? I do have one little bunch of green berries now on a little twig located in the back. Perhaps, I am trimming the bushes at the wrong time. Please advise. I haven't cut them this year even though they could use it. I would love to see red berries one of these days. I don't know the name of the holly, but it seems to be just a basic pretty holiday holly.

  Holly plants need a male and a female in order to produce berries. I at first suspected you had a male, but then you mentioned the small sprig of fruit. Therefore you do have a female. You may want to wait until the plants bloom and prune around the flowers each year. If you do severe pruning each spring, you may be removing the blooms, and therefore the berries. Hollies bloom in the spring, so fruit should be set for this season. Does the plant get plenty of sunlight? Hollies will grow in the shade, but they usually won't bloom.

  (July) Is it too hot to trim boxwood and holly shrubs? Should I wait until September?

  If they simply need a little shaping, go for it. Major pruning now would not be a great idea, since their recovery would be slow. But, September is also not a good time for major pruning, since it can encourage new growth that would not have a chance to harden off before winter. Early spring is best for major pruning, but light shearing or shaping can be done at any time if flowers are not involved.

  (August) I have a three gallon needle point holly bought in 2004 in which the leaves have fallen off of it. It is planted in a sunny location and I am using Miracle Gro plant food to water it. I am watering it about twice a week but there are still no leaves on it? I have also applied mulch around it. The holly was planted by a commercial nursery so there was good soil preparation. Do you have any suggestions? I also have two five gallon Nelly Stevens holly that had red berries when they were planted by a commercial nursery in March, 2004. There have been no red berries on it since. Do you have any suggestions?

  Needle point hollies are evergreen plants, so if all the leaves have fallen off, there is a major problem. Did you start the watering and fertilizing after the leaves fell off, or before? What is the drainage like in the hole where it is planted? Hollies usually are fairly resilient plants, so you need to find out what is happening before attempting any replacement. As for the Nelly Stevens hollies not having berries, keep in mind that these plants bloom in the spring and set the berries after bloom from cross pollination. The berries should be forming now, but will not turn red until closer to fall. It is not unusual to not get good berry set the year of planting, as they are getting established. This year, I would have hoped for some fruit. Check them more closely. Make sure they have ample sunlight -- at least 6 hours, and that you are not pruning off the potential blooms and or fruit in the spring.

  (August) I have a Burford holly that's berries are shriveling up into dry, hardened, brown fruit. Some are falling off, along with a few leaves. The leaves don't show the yellowish color due to over watering. Which they shouldn't, because they generally only get rain water. But the plant looks well established enough that rain water would be efficient. The only potential problems I noticed, were the mostly sunny location that the shrub is in, and that the fill dirt used in planting (approximately 1 and 1/2 years since planted), may not have been completely 'broke down'. Would that have any affect on the plant, or is there something else I am overlooking?

  Usually if the berries start to have problems, it is because the plant is stressed, and it is trying to preserve itself. Check to see if the plant is too dry. It sounds like some type of environmental stress. If the soil you were using were too fresh, it could lead to a nitrogen tie-up which would cause soil yellowing. While many of us have had ample rainfall, it has been spotty and your plants may be dry, especially if they are young plants.

  (September) I need advice on how and when to trim/prune the following shrubs in front of my house. The firm that did the planting is out of business. Holly - Japanese, blue & Yaupon, Yew, Emerald Gold Euonymus, Red pygmy Barberry, Blue Pacific juniper, Red tip photenia and liriope. Many of these plants seem 'out of control'. I've trimmed them in years past in late fall, but they grow so fast that it seems to be an annual affair. Any help you can provide will be greatly appreciated.

  Pruning shrubs can be an annual affair if the right plants weren’t planted in the right location, of if you need specific shapes and or sizes. Choosing plants that have a mature size that will fit the foundation of your home, can reduce the pruning chores. In my opinion, late fall is not an ideal time to prune in Arkansas. We have so many fluctuations in temperature during the winter, that I try to get the plants through before pruning. If you just need general shaping, that can be done at any time. If you need to remove more than one third of the plant, you should try to catch the burst of growth in the spring -- late February through mid April should work well. None of the plants mentioned are spring bloomers, so you are not interfering with blooms. Liriope is one plant that should be sheared hard prior to new growth each spring. This purging of old foliage leads to a cleaner and healthier looking plant.

  (September) We have some holly bushes that need to be cut back and would like to do the job in September or October. Would this be all right or harmful to the bushes? They are all mature, healthy bushes.

  You can trim hollies at any time if it is just light shaping. If you really need to cut them back, you may want to wait until closer to spring. Severe pruning in September or October would do one of two things -- it might encourage rapid new tender growth that could be damaged by winter, or you would look at ugly cut plants all winter long. Removing more than one third of the foliage is best done in late February through early April. Be aware that if you want berries on your hollies, severe pruning will probably cut off most of the berry potential -- but just for the one season.

  (November) When is the best time of year to lightly trim and shape small, fairly new-planted this past summer, holly bushes? Now OK? And what about more drastic surgery on older, larger ones?

  General shaping can actually be done any time, but limit your pruning to that now. You want a strong mature plant to head into winter for better survival. Severe pruning should be done in late winter to early spring. This will allow for quick recovery on the plants part but still give you ample winter protection now.

  (December) We have a holly bush about 14 years old (which has had berries but not profuse), but doesn't now. Two years ago, we planted an American Holly and another holly which I can't remember the name, but they do not have berries either. Can you help?

  Are the holly plants getting ample sunlight? If not, that could be limiting the berry set. Also, hollies are dioecious -- meaning separate male and separate female plants. They need both to get berries. Watch the plants closely this spring, and see if they bloom -- small white flowers. If they do bloom, then dissect the flowers to determine if they are male or female.

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