If the roots have been too damaged, then it will be difficult for the holly to recover. In some instances, it might be wiser to do a sharp root pruning so that you have less of a root ball to wrangle with but a better opportunity for the plant to regenerate new roots.

If this shrub was shaded quite a bit by its companion tree and is now planted in the sun, it will be sun scorched almost certainly. That would be adding insult to injury.

It sounds like you've done what you can; patience is important at this point.

agree with rhizo ..

and only note.. for the future ...

in z6 .. it should have been moved in april for best success ... or even better in october ...

timing can be even more important the doing it properly..

ken

Thanks ken and rhizo. I know we moved it late--we're having a tree taken down and needed to get it out of the way, so we did our best. It was moved to another shady area, so I don't think it's sun scorched. I will be patient and wait it out. At what point should it be declared a lost cause? Will it be obvious within another month or two? Or should I let it go through a winter to see if it produces new growth in the spring?

I planted a 10 gallon 4 foot-tall Foster holly (Ilex x attenuata) in mid-March and all of its leaves turned brown and fell off after 2 weeks. I thought it was dead. But 2 months later at the end of June, it is now sprouting new leaves all over the plant. So I would give the holly plant a full 2 months to recover before taking it out.

Really glad you updated this post! I googled because I have a similar situation and this was so helpful. 🌱