Japanese Holly dying -- turning brown, help with cause?
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!
Comments (4)
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
quahogOriginal Author
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Daniel Rutland