Maybe it's bacterial.

Any other ideas?

Not without more information.

Dan

Dan-
I'm happy to provide more information--what would you like to know?
I will try to get a picture up later. My camera is broken but I'll see what I can do with my cell phone.

Hi all,
I am posting two pictures of the leaves. Sorry they are so terrible; I had to take them on my (ancient) cell phone. Can you tell anything from these pictures?

In case it's helpful to know: the inkberry is in a mostly but not entirely sunny spot. We've had it for a year and a half (planted fall 2008). Our soil is clay but that spot is amended.

Thanks!

{{gwi:258476}}

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Hi -- I'm having the exact same problem! I'm north of Boston, but same soil type, same sun exposure as you mention, same planting time (2008). I'm just starting the search for an answer as I only discovered the black spots this spring. But I'm very concerned because the plants are thinning so much. I have noticed new growth, so that is promising, but clearly something is wrong with the spots and yellow leaves. Have you figured out what it is? Tried anything that works?

A few thoughts...My inkberries get chlorotic (yellow) here if I don't fertilize with HollyTone in spring (when they're pushing new growth).

Some black spot is common and normal, mulch helps prevent splashing on the leaves. Overhead watering makes it worse.

Mine are getting quite leggy in full sun, and unfortunately, I think that is their normal growth habit.

I know they will probably recover if I try rejuvenation pruning, but I need to screw my courage up to do that. I was told that once they get leggy, you need to cut them down hard to get basal growth. Anyone have experience?

Thanks for the new responses. My inkberry (like kjohnmar's) is also pushing new growth, and although the black spots have not gone away, I at least don't see a lot of new yellow leaves developing. It just looks kind of sad and thin. I will try the holly-tone (I have some but just haven't gotten around to fertilizing this spring) unless you think it's too late in the season.

If I decide to try pruning to help with the thinning, what's the best time to prune, late winter/early spring next year? Unfortunately, it hasn't really grown enough to prune a lot!

I don't think it's too late to fertilize, late May-early June is when it finally warms up here, that's usually when I do it, put a little composted manure and organic mulch around the plants, water well.

I believe that pruning can be done any time during active growth, not too late in the summer so that they harden off before winter. LMK how that works for you. As I said, I was told that if they get leggy, the only thing for them is a hard pruning. I can't bring myself to do that (yet).

I'm in CT and my inkberry has done the same. They were absolutely beautiful and now we are considering removing them. They lost so much that they look bad and, unfortunately, they are the first things as you walk up our walkway.

I am wondering if the heat/frost pattern we've had this season was too much for them. We've had a bit of this here and there in the years since we planted them, but one has lost more than half of itself.

I'm super late to this thread but I found it doing a holly search so I thought I'd reply in case any one else uses the search function for inkberries.

Our inkberries were also looking terrible and they did end up needing to be replaced. The problem was a teeny tiny insect that bores into the leaves and kills them. If you flip the leaves over you can see a very light speckle on them and that is from the borers. The borers eat the leaves in both spring and fall and I believe the fall bugs lay eggs and then in the spring they eat away at the leaves.

Lightly spraying for insects was recommended to me by our landscaper neighbor. We just put in 17 new hollies this month and I will be spraying in a couple weeks.

It's hard to say what the problem is without seeing the shrubs. But it's important to remember that all evergreens shed a portion of their leaves/needles each year. This could be part of that normal process. I had a lot of inkberries for many years til the got so leggy I ripped them out and they produced some leaves like that every year.

Also, your inkberries are recently planted. There is usually some transplant shock going on and just getting established with an adequate root system. You will lose leaves during that process. The key is to water, water, water. Most people just do not water new plantings enough.

As for fertilizer, forget expensive things like Holly Tone and just throw 10-10-10 around them in the spring. I live in the Boston area too and our soil is plenty acid enough without adding anything.

The real problem with inkberries is legginess and I have yet to see a cultivar that doesn't eventually go over to the dark side on that score.