A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 japanese holly problem

i planted 2 japanese holly's two weeks ago. some of the leaves have slowly started to turn yellow (from the inside of the bush first) and i don't know why! am i giving them too little/too much water? is this normal? please give me suggestios if you have any.thanks so much.

I have planted a lot of Ilex (Jap Hollies) and have seen this happen a lot. I use Miracle-gro for acid loving plants at half the recommended rate, every week for a month. I use a five gallon bucket and I would pour the fert. right over the plant as it will absorb through the leaves and works very quickly. I also use Hollytone around the base of the shrub to the drip line. The yellowing will stop and you still have time for some new growth to come out by the end of june. Most evergreens show new growth up til june and then will level off.

Just saw this post. Thank you so much Budman for the advice! I'm going to try this remedy. How much Miracle-gro do you use per plant?

Also...I've noticed that some of mine have spread out and are very open in the middle. What causes this?

Hi Connickfan, depending on the size of the shrub I use a five gallon bucket on up to three or four shrubs. Just enough to wet the foilage well and have some get down to the roots. The Miracle-gro is fast acting, but the hollytone will stay around for three months or so. I would definitely use both. I see Jap Hollies yellow out a lot in the early spring and when being transplanted sometimes. The ones that you state are spread out, are these shrubs you have just planted or are these established shrubs? I have some growing in shade and some in full sun and they are all pretty full.

The ones spreading out are established. They're about 7 years old.

I saw the Hollytone and the Miracle-Gro at the nursery this weekend. So I just use 1/2 a packet of the MG diluted in a 5 gallon bucket. I'll pick some up this week. I did go around the yard last night and spray MG on the beds including shrubs. It won't hurt to douse the bushes again in a few days?

It's odd...I have one near a gardenia that's just beautiful. Thick and full and gets hit with a LOT of afternoon sun. The ones in the front that aren't doing so well get a bit of shade in the afternoon.

Hopefully, the combo of Hollytone and MG will do the trick. Thanks again!