On 15/10/07 22:58, in article
, "
wrote:

On Oct 14, 9:19 pm, BlueFlower
wrote:
Hi, I wonder can anyone help me? I have a Blue Princess holly and a J.C.
Van Tol that I planted in two different areas of my newly created garden
in May. Unfortunately over the summer they both have lost some leaves,
leaving them a bit leggy. Any ideas why this would have happened? Will
the leaves grow back next year or will I be left with leggy plants?
Should I prune them? (They were bought with the root ball wrapped in
hessian, which I planted intact as I'd heard that hollies don't like
their roots being disturbed.)

You should have removed the hessian and teased out some of the roots,
making a hole large enough to make sure the roots would have plenty of
space to grow. Also yellowing of the leaves sounds to me that they
also might not be in a well drained environment. Now would be a good
time to pull them out and start again. How tall are they, how old and
are they in full sun?


Hollies grow in sun and in shade. Also, I think the problem here is that
the roots have had nowhere to go, so couldn't pick up any nutrients at an
important stage in their development, i.e. adjusting to their new
environment.
If they've been bundled up in hessian, no, they're not in a well-drained
environment!! They are in a soggy mass of sacking, holding in water, that
is not going to drain any better as winter sets in. Not disturbing the
roots means digging them up and moving them to another location at some
point. It doesn't mean merely releasing them from the container in which
you received them. While it's important to keep newly planted things
well-watered in dry spells, it's also important to be sure that they drain,
too. Very few plants like to have their roots standing in water most of the
time and that is a big plant killer.

Note to original poster: don't 'pull' them out - they're already under
stress. Lift them out carefully with a fork that you have carefully
inserted away from and well under the hessian ball, take off the hessian,
re-plant. Teasing the roots out is up to you, as I said earlier - opinions
differ on that one. They don't like lime soils but if you bought them
locally, it's to be hoped you got them from somewhere that caters to your
area.
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove weeds from address)
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'