skip to main content

Severely pruned Holly Oak Tree

8 years ago

The house behind me is vacant (bank owned). About 9 months ago, the bank hired a non arborist to trim the trees. We arrived home from vacation to find the fully grown holly oak trees between our houses severely pruned. Now we have a birds eye view in their house and vice versa. My concern is that the person the bank hired to trim them cut the branches flush to the truck. And they did so quite high up well above the fence line. (Often referred to as a "broccoli tree." We are just now approaching Spring so I'm hoping I see some growth and it will fill in but I don't know if that will happen. Should I expect new branches to sprout from the trunk? Should this fill in? Is there anything I could to help it fill in? See picture below of the tree.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (4)

ez074507
Original Author
8 years ago

Here is the picture. of the tree
floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
8 years ago
I can't help you on the 'will it resprout' question, although I imagine it will. But those trees are nowhere near fully grown. It's a pretty large species for the boundary between two fairly small lots. (Assuming we are talking about Quercus ilex).
Related Discussions
pruning holly
Q
Comments (1)
Without knowing what type of holly you have, it's difficult to tell you much, but most hollies can take a significant amount of pruning (as described in another very recent thread, linked below) without damage. Here is a link that might be useful: Other Recent Thread
...See More
Oak Leaf Holly Nightmare!
Q
Comments (2)
Is there any hope at all for this holly Sometimes many cultivars of holly are able to fill in around the trunk after many years. But I'm not sure about Oakleaf. In your case you will probably be left with a lollipop tree for a long time. What might grow down below on the trunk will be sparse at first and especially if it is shaded. So will look like a very bad prune job for oh, maybe 5 years? Can you live with that? To keep oakleafs tight and small, they really should be pruned every year. Mine I want big, so I don't prune much. They are now about 15 feet tall.
...See More
County champion trees - Holly Oak :-)
Q
Comments (7)
Good luck with it. I found one grown by Oikos to be pretty tender. It died in a winter that a Quercus suber from Woodlanders survived. I think it was 1996. (OIKOS used to offer a greater variety of rare and tender plants - especially for them in MI) The suber was probably about 10 ft tall before the people who bought my parents house cut it down for being ugly in 2004. Which it was. That's the problem with evergreen oaks in borderline climates IMHO. They look especially hideous when injured or made to go "semi-deciduous." The Q. suber was in a sunnier spot so maybe it was better able to harden. I wouldn't bother myself with either of them these days, but like I said, good luck.
...See More
Old rhodie - severe pruning or just buy new
Q
Comments (5)
The first thing that comes to mind is, as gardengal suggests, too little light. There is, however, something of a paradox in what you describe. In general, azaleas, if they are to bloom well, need more sun than rhododendrons. High dappled shade from limbed up oaks ought to provide excellent conditions for this and any other rhododendron. The leggy growth habit may be a characteristic of this particular variety. I'd try pruning back a small number of the inner branches to see if new growth sprouts well. If it does, more pruning. can be done in the future.
...See More
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
8 years ago
are you asking if it will rebranch down low.. to hide the house ...

it could.. but being in such heavy shade... it might be a couple decades before the house disappears...

ken
ez074507
Original Author
8 years ago
Thank you both for your comments. It actually gets a lot of full sun on the canopy at least. There are several large live oaks probably about 20 feet away that are about the same height at these trees . . . .about 25 feet tall so they all kind of shade each other. And yes I'm asking if it will hide the house. Sounds like it might . . . just might take awhile.

Related Stories

GARDENING GUIDES How to Prune Your Flowering Shrubs for the Best Blooms

By Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting

Less is often more when it comes to properly pruning flowering shrubs. Here’s what to do and why

TREES Great Design Plant: Southern Live Oak Offers an Unbeatable Canopy

By Falon Mihalic

Keep it dense or prune it for more light. No matter how you grow Quercus virginiana, it’s a majestic addition to its native landscape

CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANTS Great Design Plant: Coast Live Oak

The stuff of legends and memories, this California tree is one to build a whole landscape around

GARDENING GUIDES Tree Care: Common Tree Diseases and What to Do About Them

By Falon Mihalic

Learn to recognize trees that may be affected by diseases or pests so you can quickly take action

SIDE YARD IDEAS Narrow Trees for Tight Garden Spaces

Boost interest in a side yard or another space-challenged area with the fragrance and color of these columnar trees

THE ART OF ARCHITECTURE World of Design: Trees Bring Nature to a High-Rise in Milan

By Claudia Schiera

Discover ‘the most beautiful and innovative skyscraper in the world’ — the foliage-filled Bosco Verticale — and tour one of its apartments

FALL GARDENING 6 Trees You'll Fall For

By Therese Ciesinski

Don’t put down that spade! Autumn is the perfect time for planting these trees

ARBOR DAY 8 Reasons to Plant a Great Tree

By June Scott Design

Beauty is its own reward, but the benefits of planting the right tree in the right place go way beyond looks

LANDSCAPE DESIGN 7 Great Trees for Summer Shade and Fall Color

By Tiffany Carboni

These landscape-pro faves straddle the seasons beautifully. Could one enhance your own yard?

FALL GARDENING 11 Trees for Brilliant Fall Color

By Marianne Lipanovich

Give your landscape the quintessential look of autumn with the red, orange and yellow leaves of these standouts

Sponsored

More Discussions

Is it possible to supplement a plant with glucose?

16

Pink dogwood with buck damage

2

Huge black maple in Michigan

4

Oh no, tree leader broken off

14

Our oak tree seems to be slowly dying, what can we do?

9