One holly tree is not going to block all that much sun in a quarter acre space. You can also limb the tree up so you can see better what is behind it.

The ultimate decision of whether to keep it or not really depends on how it relates to what is going on around it now and in your future plans. Without a visual of the space, it is hard to say.

A picture giving the tree‘s perspective to your yard would help.

Lacking that, it sounds to me that you are leaning toward taking it out. I agree - you said they grow wild there and you have lots. This one is just in the wrong place.

the issue is not the tree .. the issue is your vision for your gardens future. .and whether that tree fits into it ...

live your dream. and dont put up with some common free seeded overly abundant holly .. just because its there now ... you said they are everywhere.. so whats so precious about this one ...

and i dont know what the hummers have to do with it ...

if you want to give it one more summer.. to see how it fits into the scape you have cleared out.. so be it ... you can always take it out in fall or next winter ...

and without a pic.. i really have no further insight.. because is cant see the situation ...

ken

You don't need loggers to take out a single tree, although probably it'd be cheaper to have them do it while they're on site. There are many smaller tree services that would take out a single tree, and can do it without much disruption to the surrounding space. So I'd do as suggested above -- give the tree a year then re-evaluate for leaving the same, or limbing up/thinning out, or removal.

As for garden planning, sometimes an exception to the rule (in your case, short to medium to tall) allows the whole design to work better.

Sorry if this shows up twice! I replied from my phone outside about an hour ago, but I'm still not seeing it. I don't know what's up, but about 1/4 of the time when I post something on here it just... disappears.

Anyway.

Right now the whole yard is filled with logs and limbs so it's hard to show anything. But here's the tree I'm talking about:

It's about 50' from the Western border, 20' from the Southern border, 50' from the driveway that's on the Eastern border, and about 100' from the house that's to the North.

In the daylight I think it's more like 15-20' tall, not the 20-25' that I said last night.

and i dont know what the hummers have to do with it ...

@ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5, I'm trying to get all of the trees taken down before the hummers show up and start nesting! We've worked hard to get them to come back every year, so when they show up I hate to hurt them or scare them away. Last year they showed up on March 15. Last week was very cold but this week as been warm and sunny, so I expect them any day now.

You don't need loggers to take out a single tree, although probably it'd be cheaper to have them do it while they're on site.

@User, the issue here is... money. Maybe 20 years ago people would pay you for the trees, but now the going rate in my area to take down a tree and remove it is $1000!! Per tree!!!

The company I have doing it now is removing all of the trees and grinding the stumps for $2000 + the logs. They're experienced and insured (a big deal to me since some were close to my house), I was just kind of lucky to catch them between jobs. But once they're done, I won't get that again.

I could realistically remove the holly tree myself, but not the stump and I don't have a way to remove it.

Plus, leaving it for a year would mean that I can't do any real planting behind it, else if I do remove it then those plants would go from shade to full sun.

Blah.

After saying that, I think I'm going to remove it. I wish I could dig it up and put it somewhere else :-(

I would not cut it down. It is a slow grower and before it becomes huge you will be dead. It is a very nice tree with no bad habits that I am aware of. It can be worked in to the landscape of your garden. The birds love the berries.

We moved in to this house 10 years ago and there was a holly left in the side yard when they cleared for the house. Today the tree has filled out and has only increased its height by about 3 times. Ii is currently about 15 feet tall. With the berries it fits into the near by butterfly garden.

I don't know what your plans for a nicer garden area include, but in that setting, the holly is going to be a large shrub at best. I wouldn't consider it a shade tree now or possibly ever. As for a possible stump, that holly doesn't qualify.

I like the woods surrounding your cleared area -- early spring in my favorite eastern woodlands mix. My previous house backed up to a natural area like that. We had such a variety of birds, between those that liked the woods and those that liked the open area of everyone's yards, and everything in between. I envy you that!

I don't know enough about your planned garden to give an opinion if that tree in that position works in it or not (and I'm not that great a designer anyway). But I can advise you to take into account the difference between heavy shade and dappled shade. That holly is quite sparse. If it has grown surrounded by other trees, the shock of going to full sun exposure might set it way back, if not kill it.

Tough decision.

If it has grown surrounded by other trees, the shock of going to full sun exposure might set it way back, if not kill it.

LOL. You DO NOT need to worry about this.

The holly will be fine, unless it sustained a lot of root damage in the logging operation. Even then, they are very hard trees to kill, at least once they get that size.

I WISH that I could dig it up and relocate it! But I've relocated dozens of them over the years, and any that were over about 1' tall died in the process :-( That's been pretty disappointing.

I honestly don't have a garden design yet. It was originally going to be a land of fruits and nuts (haha) with some flowers, peppers, and tomatoes spread out in a Bohemian way. But after some discussion on here, I just don't think that's practical after all. So I'm kind of back to the drawing board. Right now I'm leaning towards Japanese maples, shrubs, and still the blend of flowers, peppers, and tomatoes, but this is taking longer to clear than anticipated so it might end up empty until next year.

Pretend it a Japanese holly and plan Japanese garden around it.