Japanese Holly dying -- turning brown, help with cause?

7 years ago

last modified: 7 years ago

I have a question about a Japanese Holly (Ilex Cr.) in our front yard
that seems to be dying -- leaves turning brown in patches, eventually
falling off.

Background: we bought the house two years ago, the holly long
pre-dates us. It seemed in good health but was pretty overgrown, we
pruned it significantly in the spring of 2015, but still with lots of
green leaves and it appeared to do OK -- all green right until early
spring of this year.

Northeast U.S., so it was a very mild winter and a fairly normal
spring so far in terms of rain and temps -- none of our other plants
show obvious water/heat stress. (zone 6b)

So here's what's been happening: we noticed mid-spring that brown
patches were appearing on the holly. Sections of leaves, a foot or two
across at a time, were turning yellow, then brown. Color change
within each patch was uniform; leaves outside the boundaries were still
an even, normal looking green. Over the last few months, the patches
have spread so that more than half the shrub is now brown (pics
attached).

Other than the major pruning over one year ago, the only other thing
we've done is that our landscaper put down some mulch in that bed last
summer (had just been plain dirt underneath). For what it's worth, its
a relatively shady location, though not full shade.

So we're trying to figure out if there is anything we can do? And
more so, what we should do for a replacement if it is indeed soon to be
dead. The pattern seems consistent with some of the descriptions I've
read online about various root rots, and if that is what it is, it
sounds like replacing it with another Ilex Cr. would just lead to
another dead bush. Or maybe it takes longer for over-pruning to show
its effect, and it was our fault but another Japanese Holly would do
fine in the location.

Thanks!

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Comments (4)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
7 years ago
its alive down near the bottom ...

i wouldnt want to look at it the way it is for a few years ..

i would cut it down to about 3 to 5 inches ..... and hope it revives from down low ..

besides at one foot from the house.. its wildly overgrown ... and needs to be taken back significantly ... and even if it dies.. you can plant something else out 3 to 5 feet from the house where it should be ...

never forget.. foundation plantings are planted to hide the foundation. NOT ON THE FOUNDATION ...

since it was the old owner.. too many peeps buy this nice little plant.. and plant it in a site that is perfect for its size that moment.. with no understanding of the monster it can grow into ...

all that.. and i am not even concerned about what kind of holly it is .... its general shrub ideas ...

ken
quahog
Original Author
7 years ago
Thanks, we'll have to think about whether to cut back and hope it regrows vs getting something else in there sooner. We're definitely paying attention to long-term sizes and not just what things look like today.

>"never forget.. foundation plantings are planted to hide the foundation. NOT ON THE FOUNDATION .."

Agree entirely! That holly is only 1 foot off the now house because we cut it back -- the holly and other shrubs were fully pressed up against the house itself. A large cypress-y thing was even half-way up the dining room windows, pressed against the glass. Every single foot of exposed foundation around the entire house had plants in direct contact, at least during the growing season. A 20 foot-tall willow tree was planted less than two feet from the foundation, a large hawthorn tree was basically laying on top of the whole garage roof, and vines were starting to pull the electrical and cableTV wires off the house!!! Rose bushes impinged on the driveway so badly that the passenger doors of cars were inaccessible.

What's odd is that the previous owner, a 60-something single man, wasn't neglectful or an invalid in general, in most ways he was decent with maintaining the house. But he apparently loved the feel of living in a jungle, totally overgrown everywhere. The interior was full huge ferns and the like.
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
7 years ago
Thanks, we'll have to think about whether to cut back and hope it regrows vs getting something else in there sooner.

==>> welcome ... the heat of summer is not great planting time ... think fall ...

as such.. cut it down now.. and see how it reacts for 2 or 3 months ... maybe it will surprise us ...

and if you dont like it in mid to late sept.. remove it..

not only do the plants prefer fall planting ... its better on us.. working like a dog digging.. lol ... in the cool crisp fall

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Daniel Rutland
5 years ago
How did this end up going? Did it recover?
I have a similar situation. I have been regularly watering but they just keep browning and losing leaves