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| My house had two holly bushes (male and female) when I moved in 3 years ago. Both were healthy and bushy and seemed well established. They both looked great this spring, I even commented how green and shiny the female's leaves were. I fertilized with HollyTone in the spring.
We have had a weird spring--hot, then rainy, rainy and cool and now really hot. I have tried treated them with an anti-fungal I use for more rose bushes with no change. Now the leaves are turning brown (usually on the edges) and then move into the center, until the leaves turn brown/black and drop off. The female is worse than the male. When I scrape the skin, the underneath looks green and healthy. What do I do??? |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by prairiegirlz5 (My Page) on Fri, Jul 9, 10 at 13:48
| They are probably adjusting to the weird weather and require NO FURTHER TREATMENT. You can trim out branches whose leaves have all turned brown. It is also important to mulch them. This moderates soil temps and keeps splashback off the leaves. I have inkberry hollies that always get a few yellow leaves when we get too much rain. I use Hollytone in spring and pick off any yellow/black leaves. If yours have a more drastic case, they probably have a disease. Bring an affected branch to a good local nursery or the local cooperative extension office for diagnosis. |
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| Well, the female died. ALL the leaves dropped off. I did try spraying with a anti-fungal to no avail. I dug it up over the weekend and the roots seem okay--not signs of root rot. I cleaned up all the dead leaves etc. Now the male is showing signs of the leaves turning black on the edges. It *is* close to the house and I did have some point-tucking done on my stairs last fall. Oddly, the female is *further* away from the stairs than the male. I don't remember seeing any mortar near the holly, but could it have leached into the soil? Is this what happens to holly bushes if the soil isn't acidic enough? |
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| If you try to break off a twig does it snap off dry and brittle or is it still bendy? If the latter it is worth leaving the trees until next spring before digging them up. They may still be alive. And what kind of hollies are they? I only know Ilex aquifolium and that does not need acid conditions. |
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Tue, Aug 24, 10 at 12:39
| IMHO ... and reinforced by the first reply .... MOST SHRUBS NEVER NEED ANYTHING FROM YOU ... stop feeding them.. stop spraying them .... and just insure they have proper water i really wonder.. if you arent killing them with too much love .... was the anti-fungal for roses...LABELED FOR EVERGREEN HOLLY???? if not.. then everything that happened.. after the spray.. MAY HAVE BEEN YOUR FAULT .... i, also .. going into late fall ... leave stuff until late next spring.. to make the decision as to whether it will live.. early dormancy is an option for heavily stressed plants ... good luck ken |
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| Thanks for all the suggestions. The female holly was dead, dead, dead. No dormancy. Everything very brittle (ie branch would snap in half) and no signs up life when I dug it up. Thanks again. |
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