On 21/10/07 12:14, in article ,
"BlueFlower" wrote:


Sacha;755343 Wrote:

So, your holly is planted in hessian sacking, under membrane and bark
chippings (in themselves deleterious to plants as they rot down) and
you are
posting via Garden Banter asking advice from urg but saying "from what
I've
read". Why do I get the whiff of a wind up here?
Let us know if they live or die, please and how you brought either
about.
It would be most interesting to hear the final outcome.


Sacha, I am sorry you have taken what I said like this. My post to urg
really was a genuine question from someone who is interested enough to
read up on a project so as to make a success of it but not enough
experience to get it all right.

And I was a bit tongue in cheek! Should have put a smiley in, obviously.
But there seem to be many variables being added to this poor plant's
troubles. I really do think it's struggling with very poor conditions. Its
roots can't spread out for nourishment; it's probably/possibly altogether
too wet at the root; it's got bark chippings rotting down on top of it,
which, not everyone knows, take nitrogen from the soil while they rot and
only put it back once they've finished doing so; it's got weed membrane too
which holds moisture in and sounds as if its position is too sunny. At
present, I think it sounds as if everything that could be wrong for this
plant is wrong. I can only repeat that my suggestion is that you lift it,
carefully cut away the hessian while not 'trimming' the roots, and re-plant
it. Don't replace the weed membrane; don't replace the bark chippings and
if possible, give it a bit of shade, though I don't think that's as crucial
as all the other variables. Hollies do drop some leaves from time to time
and some do get spindly but I think this is struggling because of where it's
been put and how.
But the thing that intrigues me is why you haven't asked the original
supplier what he or she thinks is wrong with it? Have you tried talking to
them? A reputable nursery or gc should either give you advice on what might
be wrong or replace the plant if it's a bad one.
And BTW, when you/if you, take up the plant, take a look for vine weevil
grubs, just to be on the safe side. (Don't look at this url just before or
after a meal!)
http://www.junglegardens.com/images/VineWeevilGrub.jpg

--
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.'