Since I have dial-up, and am on a tightish schedule, I am not going to wait for the VERY slow down-load - most of my questions would be the same, anyway....

Have you been watering? Whether or not you have been watering, how much rain have you had? What has the weather in general been like - hot, windy, sunny, etc.? I am assuming this is in full sun, so what soil is it in, and how much, if at all, did you amend the soil? Have you fed the holly, or the lawn nearby within the month before the decline began? Had anyone in the vicinity sprayed herbicide recently, you or a neighbor? Is it mulched, and how deeply if so?

Have you checked out the garden center's suggestions - dug down around the roots to see if the soil is wet or dry, and to see if it is planted too deeply? If not, why not?

If you could answer some, if not all, of the questions, then you might get a more informed answer to your original posting - right now, I can only echo the garden center - too much or too little water, planted too deeply... If it has been really hot and windy, then I don't think this is too odd a time of year for a relatively young plant to show stress.

We live on very sandy soil. We have watered the holly regularly during the very dry weather that we've been having, but we have not dug down into the soil to see how wet it is. We will try that. We got this holly and a number of other native shrubs because we thought we would be able to let them be, since they are native and no one is running out into the woods to water all of the ones not in private landscapes. We thought a fully native landscape plan would mean less maintenance. But we're learning that that's not the case. I guess it's still considered "new" and not "established" even after a year. We didn't know that.

I have no idea how to tell if the plant was planted too low. I mean, we followed directions upon planting it, so I would assume it's NOT too low.

It has not at all been very windy here and I can't really say that it's in full sun. It's in mostly sun but one side of it probably never gets sun because of tall trees across the street.

Not sure if any of that is helpful. We thought we were doing everything right so we're a little discouraged.

Thanks.

Yeesh; I've never grown holly, but I'd say that a first move would be to cut out anything that's obviously dead, and get rid of it (in case there's any fungus or whatever on it).

I'd also echo Dibbit - you've got to dig down several inches (under the drip line) and see how moist the soil is.

The splotchy canes almost look cankered, though my only canker experience is with roses. Unfortunately, that can have a variety of causes.

One other thing...do you have critters in the ground where you live? Moles? Give the plant a good wiggle, and see if it seems loose in the ground at all. If it does, something may be munching on your roots.

Do you have an extension office you can take part of this to? They could at least rule out disease. They'll want to see a piece of the plant where it changes from healthy to dying.

Other than that, answering Dibbit's questions will do a lot to help people diagnose this.

Best,
Lara

Whoops, sorry, didn't see your follow up before I posted.

You're right, going native is generally a good idea for lower maintenance. However, as you are discovering, the low maintenance happens after the plant is established, and I think this one still qualifies as a baby.

How long a plant takes to become established depends on the plant, but for shrubs it can take a couple of years. When it first goes into the ground, the plant concentrates on putting down roots, and does very little in the way of growing stems/flowers/etc. During this time it will need to be watered and protected from harsh elements (for example, a "full sun" plant may get its leaves crisped in its first season, because its roots can't yet keep it well hydrated). Only after it can feed/hydrate itself does it start producing lots of new visible growth; this is a good sign that it is becoming established.

You're right, no one babies these plants in the wild. However, each plant produces many many seeds, and relatively few may land in an area where they can actually grow without struggling. Be patient with your new plants as they get started, and you should be rewarded with low maintenance. Also, I can't tell if your plant is mulched, but with sandy soil that would be a great idea; it'll help keep the soil from drying out quickly, and as it (the mulch) decomposes it'll add organic material to your soil.

Best,
Lara

My Problem Solver offers no information for what is happening to your Holly. This isn't much help but what I ascertain is simply that your plant is under some heavy stress. Too much water would cause leaves to yellow, then turn brown, and finally dropping. That I can qualify myself for. Not enough water and you'll get krinkled edges, brown or black discoloration ranging from black spots opening to holes on the leaves or, leaves simply crisiping and browning until they fall off.

Your situation is on the borderline right now for if it is going to make it or not. The first thing you should do is remove all the dead. I'd give it a light fertilization of Miracid twice (1/2 the rate) a week and make sure it is watered heavily once a week allowing the soil to almost but never dry out between waterings.

You'd notice if it were a fungus right away so you should be able to eliminate that right off the bat with root fungus being a possibilty.

Here's a link for Black Root Rot:
Black Root Rot Article from The Virginia Cooperative Extension

And Phytophthora Root Rot:
Phytophthora Study

You need to look at the trunk area to see if the root flare, where the roots come off the trunk, is at or just above ground level. This is how the shrub would grow in the wild, and how it should be growing in your soil. If you see a straight "post" going into the ground, you need to dig around and see how low down the flare is - if only an inch or so, then gently clearing back the soil from that area in a gentle slope should be OK. The problem with burying the root flare is that A) it can encourage rot on the trunk and in the roots from too much moisture being next to the trunk, B) it can mean that the roots are too deeply buried - roots grow in the top 8-18" on soil, usually, needing to be that close to the surface to allow for oxygen exchange and C) it generally isn't good for the tree and the roots. If the flare is deeper, then I would dig up the holly this fall, and replant it so that the flare is at the correct level. In your sandy soil, it isn't such a big deal as it would be in my clay, but still it's better to have it right.

As you are finding out, and as Lilgreenfrog says, plants, especially trees and shrubs, take a minimum of 2 years to be established, and need supplemental watering for those 2 years, plus more in long, dry spells in the third year. While you are correct that "native" plants don't get that in the wild, they also grow roots at the rate that the water available to them allows (many of them not surviving), and therefore their tops and root systems are in balance. Because you planted a larger plant, either from a container or B&B'ed, the top and root systems aren't in balance, and you have to take care of the plant while it grows enough roots to support the top.

If you haven't, do spread mulch. It keeps the moisture in the soil, it keeps the soil cooler, it enriches the soil as it breaks down, it limits weeds and grass competition, and it replicates the forest floor of the native plants, which should have several inches of leaves, etc., at any time. Use any good, aged wood or bark mulch, spread it as widely as possible, no deeper than 4", and don't put any in the inch or two next to the trunk.

And don't be too discouraged, you just didn't know, and now you know more. We have all been there, and probably done that as well! Kudos to you for planting natives - in a year or so, they really will be just about maintenance free.