Hi

I promised to post some pictures of my browning holly bush.........:

http://members.rott.chello.nl/ldejag...x.OddsSods.htm

its' been in the same spot for years without any problems. Now it's
going brown.

I need to do something about it, and it will obviously need cutting
back as the leaves to not look as if they can be saved.

My question is really what is wrong with it and when should I prune it
hard back?

TIA Jenny

JennyC wrote:
Hi

I promised to post some pictures of my browning holly bush.........:

http://members.rott.chello.nl/ldejag...x.OddsSods.htm

its' been in the same spot for years without any problems. Now it's
going brown.

I need to do something about it, and it will obviously need cutting
back as the leaves to not look as if they can be saved.

My question is really what is wrong with it and when should I prune it
hard back?


That is NOT holly leaf miner. The defining characteristic of that is the
mining of tracks between the top and bottom surfaces of the leaf by the
grub, leaving a disfiguring but greeny yellow raised area visible on the top
surface not the best image but....
http://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile..._leafminer.asp


Neither does it look like Holly leaf blight which leaves dead blackened
twigs, tends to work from the ground up and (in the cases i have observed)
the leaves have a more strongly defined "line of death". But I'm less
certain about ruling it out completely


pk

Jenny,
Your holly is very close to a wall, which means it is more subject to soil
dryness generally and drought specifically. It appears to be scorched ..
and hungry. Do you feed it?
I don't rule out pests or diseases (I will do a spot of research), but I'm
sure it would help if its general health was improved.
Yes, certainly remove any fallen leaves .. then fork some general fertiliser
into the soil around the base of the plant .. water thoroughly, then mulch.
As to pruning: if the plant IS starved, removing leaves and plant tissue now
will only exacerbate the problem. If it were my holly, I would wait 2-4
weeks after feeding and then reassess the plant. The top growth of your
holly looks better than the sides, so I would only cut back the side growth
this year. Next year may show an improvement. If it does, I would then
want to cut back the top growth to promote growth on the sides.
Hope this helps.
Spider
JennyC wrote in message
...
Hi

I promised to post some pictures of my browning holly bush.........:

http://members.rott.chello.nl/ldejag...x.OddsSods.htm

its' been in the same spot for years without any problems. Now it's
going brown.

I need to do something about it, and it will obviously need cutting
back as the leaves to not look as if they can be saved.

My question is really what is wrong with it and when should I prune it
hard back?

TIA Jenny

JennyC wrote in message
"Spider" wrote
Hi
I promised to post some pictures of my browning holly
bush.........:
http://members.rott.chello.nl/ldejag...x.OddsSods.htm


Jenny,
Your holly is very close to a wall, which means it is more subject
to soil
dryness generally and drought specifically. It appears to be
scorched ..
and hungry. Do you feed it?

I've fed it and it's kept well watered, along with all the other
palnts in that bed..........
I know it looks scorched, that's what's so puzzeling !

I don't rule out pests or diseases (I will do a spot of research),
but I'm
sure it would help if its general health was improved.
Yes, certainly remove any fallen leaves .. then fork some general
fertiliser
into the soil around the base of the plant .. water thoroughly, then
mulch.

Will do

As to pruning: if the plant IS starved, removing leaves and plant
tissue now
will only exacerbate the problem. If it were my holly, I would wait
2-4
weeks after feeding and then reassess the plant. The top growth of
your
holly looks better than the sides, so I would only cut back the side
growth
this year. Next year may show an improvement. If it does, I would
then
want to cut back the top growth to promote growth on the sides.
Hope this helps.
Spider

The new growth is indeed OK, that was why I thought of pruning hard so
that the new growth would replace the old. But I can see your point
about waiting a bit............With the heatwave at the moment I
certainly do not feel like doing an gardening at all except watering
when the sun has gone down :~))

Jenny

"Paul Kelly" wrote
JennyC wrote:
Hi
I promised to post some pictures of my browning holly
bush.........:
http://members.rott.chello.nl/ldejag...x.OddsSods.htm


That is NOT holly leaf miner. The defining characteristic of that is
the
mining of tracks between the top and bottom surfaces of the leaf by
the
grub, leaving a disfiguring but greeny yellow raised area visible on
the top
surface not the best image but....
http://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile..._leafminer.asp


Neither does it look like Holly leaf blight which leaves dead
blackened
twigs, tends to work from the ground up and (in the cases i have
observed)
the leaves have a more strongly defined "line of death". But I'm
less
certain about ruling it out completely
pk

Right - now I know what it isn't :~))
Any ideas as to what it might be ??

Jenny

"JennyC" wrote
I promised to post some pictures of my browning holly bush.........:
http://members.rott.chello.nl/ldejag...x.OddsSods.htm

Turns out not to be a holly at all !!!!!!!!
Karen sent me this :

Sorry but my employer does not allow me to post from work and I have
no
..access at home so I have to e-mail.

It doesn't look like a holly to me. I think it may be Osmanthus
heterophylla.

That's definatly what it is !!!!! I found pictures and here in Holland
its even called "pretend holly" !!


Two points to make if it is:-
1/ I don't know how well it will take being cut back
2/ the one I have in s unny position on a dry soil also does this. In
fact whole branches have been known to dies off like this.
Karen

Does this mean it might be something that only affects Osmanthus?
I could not find anything on google........

Jenny

we have damage similar to yours on a number of established trees and shrubs. Ours is apparently caused by mole digging. Could that be a possibility?

"Debsy'n'Spooky" wrote in
message s.com...
we have damage similar to yours on a number of established trees and
shrubs. Ours is apparently caused by mole digging. Could that be a
possibility?
Debsy'n'Spooky

LOL - not really Debsy'n'Spooky

Take a look at my garden pages and you'll see why !
http://members.rott.chello.nl/ldejag...ex.welcome.htm

Jenny

PS our cat is called Spooky............:~))

Well done Jenny!! Maybe we should try your approach to gardening, may even get rid of our pesky moles!!