how about a pic ... are you 100% on that ID ... vs privet?? ...

what makes you think they are hungry, rather than stressed for other reasons???

lack of food is rarely the issue ...

and how close to a fert'd lawn are they ... plants of this age.. can have far reaching roots ... and most likely are getting everything they need

ken

Excellent follow ups. I've attached a picture I didn't take for the purpose of showing the plants, so apologies if its not zoomed in enough, I can get a better one. But it does show how close it is to the lawn. The reason I wanted to feed them was just cause there are gaps of dead twigs. In this picture you can see on the upper right it dents in where it didn't used to. I'm actually not fully convinced the right boxwood is the same species as the left one on the other side of stairs. Thoughts?

anly weird snow load in the corner of that eave.. where you think its dented in???

sorry... they look fine to me.. for late winter ... prune out the dead ... and watch spring growth fill it all in ...

i would not waste money of fert ... period ...

all that said ... they are fairly overgrown for the spot.. unless you like sitting in the dark in the cubby hole behind ... i would probably get rid of them ... and plant some pretty flowers to look at, while i sit on the porch ....

that particular spot.. between the porch and walk ... i most likely too small.. for most shrubs ....

if you are happy with it all... great ... just opinion from me ... to keep in the back of your head ... when you finally get fed up with dealing with them.. or they swallow the porch in toto ...

ken

ps: mosquito hide in shrubs like that.. during the day ... so if you are losing a lot of blood at night, sitting on the porch ... you now know where they are hiding ....

Can't really tell from that photo, but they almost look like Japanese holly, Ilex crenata.

Thanks guys! Attached are two pics. One, to confirm its boxwood. I think so because it was the serrated leaves. The second is to show the dead zone I mentioned first. There were no snow drifts on it. This area started last year. No way to fix it other than chopping it all off? I also think you're right about it taking over too large. Maybe I'll shave it down like a foot so you can at least SEE the railing and porch.

OK - that isn't Box. The serrated leaves actually help prove that rather than vice versa. But also Box has opposite leaves and your shrub does not.

Looks like a Holly to me but I don't know them at all well.

Hey John,

Dave & Flora have the right idea. Here's a little tidbit learned on the first day of any woody plant ID class. Arrangement of leaves and stems can be opposite, alternate or whorled (infrequently)

The alternate leaf arrangement of your shrub and glossiness of foliage says Japanese Holly.

See previous boxwood thread

Thanks guys! Does the answer "this is actually Japanese Holly" change anything about my original question of whether or not I should fertilize it this spring (and with what) ?

nobody said shave it all off... in that particular spot ...

we said.. hand prune the dead out .. then i said see how it buds out in spring ...

and i say it still looks rather healthy ... and does not need fert ...

if you want to reduce height... expect to look at one bare ugly top... for most of this season.. and probably next .. it depends how it responds in your zone.. in my MI ... with the shorter season.. it would be a two year deal ...

and again .. if i were to do that.. i would do it by hand ... not with power tools ...

i am not up on holly disease.. if any ... i will defer to anyone else.. if that is an issue... but regardless ... fert is not an answer to such ...

plants are not children.. they do NOT need to be fed .....fert is never really an answer to any problem ... though the fert manufactures sure want you think such...

ken

Actually, much like boxwood, Japanese holly responds to hard pruning rather well. That's one of the reasons it is used as a boxwood substitute for low hedges - you can shear it hard and often. And as pruning stimulates the production of new growth, I wouldn't hesitate to trim it back some to even out height but wait a bit until you see the plant pushing new seasonal growth buds.

As to needing to fertilize, plants established in position in a garden for a number of years may well need some nutrient supplementation. As Ken alluded to earlier, if in close proximity to a fertilized lawn, this is probably not the case, but if in a planting bed bordered on one side by a concrete foundation and on the other by a concrete walkway, it is quite possible they may need a boost. I find the easiest way to accomplish this is just applying a nutrient-rich mulch like compost. But a light application of any fertilizer recommended for broadleaved evergreen shrubs (applied in spring) won't hurt.