My little old aunt- in- law brought me a potted holly this afternoon that she is afraid is dying. I know next to nothing about hollys.
She was given the potted plant as a gift at Christmas, and it was doing well until about two weeks ago when it started dropping leaves. She took it to a garden center where the worker repotted it for her, told her it didn't have a strong enough root system to plant outside, and sold her some miracle grow for acid loving plants. The bush is still dropping leaves, and she didn't want to watch it die, so now I have it.
I thought I saw two baby leaves on it but am not sure... I don't know what the watering requirements are... soak the pot and let it dry? (It is really dry right now, she said she gave it 1/4 cup water this morning) Keep the soil moist? Wet?
Any insight would be welcome... Thanks!
What is the container made of, I.e. plastic, glazed ceramic, unglazed terra cotta, or something else? Does it have drainage holes in the bottom? What is the measurement from rim to rim, across the top of the container?
Where is the plant being kept, I.e. directly in front of a window, beside a window, across the room from a window? What direction does the window face ... east, west, etc.?
The soil should be kept evenly moist, neither soggy nor dry. It could be that either too much water or not enough is causing the leaves to drop.
Please don't fertilize the plant at this time. Fertilizers can actually damage a plant that is showing symptoms of stress, such as dropping leaves.
I'll be able to give you better information once you've answered the questions for me.
Where is the plant being kept, I.e. directly in front of a window, beside a window, across the room from a window? What direction does the window face ... east, west, etc.?
The soil should be kept evenly moist, neither soggy nor dry. It could be that either too much water or not enough is causing the leaves to drop.
Please don't fertilize the plant at this time. Fertilizers can actually damage a plant that is showing symptoms of stress, such as dropping leaves.
I'll be able to give you better information once you've answered the questions for me.
I don't know the answer to all your questions, but here is what I do know...
The pot is ceramic glazed, nine inches across the outer edges, 7 1/2 interior edges, about 7 1/2 inches deep. I have a feeling this is the pot it came in, but I am not sure. Looks like average potting soil in the pot. The pot has drianage holes, but is sitting in a matching attached dish to catch the water that drains out.
I believe she had kept the plant on her kitchen table, so it would be easy to carry to the sink. That room would have northern and eastern exposure. She told me that the plant seemed to get sick after she had overwatered it once and left it sitting in the water - she thought maybe she waterlooged it. But it apparently hasn't been the same since.
Thank you for telling me fertilizer would be a bad thing! I am sure she has already put some on, and I had wondered if I should use more...
I hope this gives you some clues, thanks so much for your time!
The pot is ceramic glazed, nine inches across the outer edges, 7 1/2 interior edges, about 7 1/2 inches deep. I have a feeling this is the pot it came in, but I am not sure. Looks like average potting soil in the pot. The pot has drianage holes, but is sitting in a matching attached dish to catch the water that drains out.
I believe she had kept the plant on her kitchen table, so it would be easy to carry to the sink. That room would have northern and eastern exposure. She told me that the plant seemed to get sick after she had overwatered it once and left it sitting in the water - she thought maybe she waterlooged it. But it apparently hasn't been the same since.
Thank you for telling me fertilizer would be a bad thing! I am sure she has already put some on, and I had wondered if I should use more...
I hope this gives you some clues, thanks so much for your time!
A single overwatering shouldn't cause the extensive leaf drop you've described. Unless she left it sitting in water every time she watered it, I think it's more likely that that plant wasn't getting enough light. This is especially likely if she had the plant during the winter months. Remember that holly is a tree or very large shrub (depending on how it's pruned). It normally grows outdoors in full sun, so the light reaching your aunt's kitchen table was probably much less than the holly would have liked.
IMO, it's probable that the plant has been consistently overwatered, because we know the roots haven't developed as they should. Lack of roots leads to leaf drop, so the two symptoms are indicative of the same issue. The solution is to water it less and get it into bright light.
Those containers with attached saucers can be problematic, because, for one thing, it isn't always easy to see if the saucer has water in it. That makes it easy to forget to empty the saucer every time you've watered the plant. Now that you know this, be sure to empty the saucer about 45 minutes to an hour after you water the plant, even if you don't think there is water in the saucer. You can either take it to the sink when you water it, and leave it there for an hour while it drains, or you can carry a little bucket with you and visit your plants about an hour after you've watered them, pouring off any water that has accumulated in the saucers. I use a plastic paint bucket for this. Just go through the motions of emptying all the saucers, whether you can actually see water in them or not.
Now that the weather is nice, I would place the plant outdoors. Don't move it into full sun right away, though. You have to slowly acclimate it to the sun, or it will get sunburned. Place the plant in full shade at first. Every day or two, move it into a place with brighter light. Eventually, you will have it in a place where is getting partial sun, and finally, you can move it into full sun and just leave it there. This late in the year, I don't think you have to worry about night temperatures being too cold for it. You can just leave it outside all the time.
The glazed container will keep the soil more moist than an unglazed container would, so every time, before you water it, dig into the soil with your finger. Dig down into the soil about an inch or two. If the soil is damp at that depth, don't water the plant. If it's dry, then it needs water. Don't forget to let it drain and then go back and pour off any excess water.
Although I don't like those containers with attached saucers, I admit that I have a couple. I've already discussed one problem with them, that they can lead to overwatering. Another problem is that you can't lift the pot out of the saucer and look at the bottom of the pot to see if the roots are coming out of the drainage holes. That's an easy way to determine if your plant needs to be moved to a larger container. If you're careful to not overwater the holly, though, and to give it sufficient light, then you may not have to worry about repotting it. It might develop enough roots to be planted outdoors in the ground this coming fall. That's what you're aiming for. (Mulch it well when you plant it outdoors, to help it survive the winter cold.)
IMO, it's probable that the plant has been consistently overwatered, because we know the roots haven't developed as they should. Lack of roots leads to leaf drop, so the two symptoms are indicative of the same issue. The solution is to water it less and get it into bright light.
Those containers with attached saucers can be problematic, because, for one thing, it isn't always easy to see if the saucer has water in it. That makes it easy to forget to empty the saucer every time you've watered the plant. Now that you know this, be sure to empty the saucer about 45 minutes to an hour after you water the plant, even if you don't think there is water in the saucer. You can either take it to the sink when you water it, and leave it there for an hour while it drains, or you can carry a little bucket with you and visit your plants about an hour after you've watered them, pouring off any water that has accumulated in the saucers. I use a plastic paint bucket for this. Just go through the motions of emptying all the saucers, whether you can actually see water in them or not.
Now that the weather is nice, I would place the plant outdoors. Don't move it into full sun right away, though. You have to slowly acclimate it to the sun, or it will get sunburned. Place the plant in full shade at first. Every day or two, move it into a place with brighter light. Eventually, you will have it in a place where is getting partial sun, and finally, you can move it into full sun and just leave it there. This late in the year, I don't think you have to worry about night temperatures being too cold for it. You can just leave it outside all the time.
The glazed container will keep the soil more moist than an unglazed container would, so every time, before you water it, dig into the soil with your finger. Dig down into the soil about an inch or two. If the soil is damp at that depth, don't water the plant. If it's dry, then it needs water. Don't forget to let it drain and then go back and pour off any excess water.
Although I don't like those containers with attached saucers, I admit that I have a couple. I've already discussed one problem with them, that they can lead to overwatering. Another problem is that you can't lift the pot out of the saucer and look at the bottom of the pot to see if the roots are coming out of the drainage holes. That's an easy way to determine if your plant needs to be moved to a larger container. If you're careful to not overwater the holly, though, and to give it sufficient light, then you may not have to worry about repotting it. It might develop enough roots to be planted outdoors in the ground this coming fall. That's what you're aiming for. (Mulch it well when you plant it outdoors, to help it survive the winter cold.)
Funny, my holly started doing the same thing about two weeks back also...
I had repotted it, root pruned, trimmed it, no reaction or growth whatsoever. Then as the weather got hot it started growing new shoots and dropping leaves at the same time. The new leaves started turning brown too after a while...
It's in a 4" plastic pot, no saucer, and gets sun after about 1-2pm.
I have it in cactus mix, and had trimmed about 1/3rd of it's roots in spring.
It was a $1 special after Xmas, so I am not really attached to it, but it bugs me that it would be consistent for so long, and then go in two opposite directions at the same time...
I took off about 50% of the top growth, to take some strain off the root system, but I am still debating on whether it would be a good idea to check on the roots themselves or not...
Any ideas? I will keep it more on the dry side from now on, maybe that'll help...
I had repotted it, root pruned, trimmed it, no reaction or growth whatsoever. Then as the weather got hot it started growing new shoots and dropping leaves at the same time. The new leaves started turning brown too after a while...
It's in a 4" plastic pot, no saucer, and gets sun after about 1-2pm.
I have it in cactus mix, and had trimmed about 1/3rd of it's roots in spring.
It was a $1 special after Xmas, so I am not really attached to it, but it bugs me that it would be consistent for so long, and then go in two opposite directions at the same time...
I took off about 50% of the top growth, to take some strain off the root system, but I am still debating on whether it would be a good idea to check on the roots themselves or not...
Any ideas? I will keep it more on the dry side from now on, maybe that'll help...
Well, I have been meaning to let you know how things have turned out for the sick holly.... it died : ( Root rot got it. I took it to another garden center, one of the workers lifted it out of the pot, and there basically was no root system at all. I still need to tell my aunt!
Thanks for your help and advice! I wish I had gotten it sooner, we might have saved it, but oh well, now I know to be careful of those pots!
Thanks for your help and advice! I wish I had gotten it sooner, we might have saved it, but oh well, now I know to be careful of those pots!