It's not really possible for any further advice because we'd need to see more, and better, photos - including the whole plant, and even then, it may not help much. If it hasn't looked well for a long time, it may be too far gone for recovery. Sickly plants are more vulnerable to pests and diseases too. They're tough as old boots, but long term poor growing conditions can see off even the hardiest shrub. Too much/too little water, wrong soil medium etc. In any case - just keep it steady over winter, check it isn't dried out or waterlogged [in which case move it somewhere it won't be, like against a house wall ] and wait until spring to see if there's any new life. Then it can be pruned back. Don't feed it until it's healthier - it will be counter productive.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Not posted anything about this question before as there has already been a lot of good advice on growing plants well in containers and I'm not that much of a container plant enthusiast myself. When I saw there was an issue with a variety of Holly it reminded me of what I read in a book called Trees for your garden by Allen Paterson. He makes the point that when we select trees for our garden it is often best to try source ones that are native to a place with our growing conditions and if we get for example a tree that has adapted to grow in a continental climate with very cold winters and hot summers it may not do as well in a more oceanic climate where the extremes are less pronounced but also there may be more variability in temperatures with recent frosts and warm day time temperatures not suiting these continental climate adapted plants that are more familiar with set cold and warm seasons. It just struck me that this has happened to your Holly just as we get our first frosts and maybe the tree has not had the usual messages to get prepared for winter that it would have got in its native range. It was a hybrid developed in North America and what I read was saying that it was selected because it was more cold tolerant than some other Holly plants. If it truly is a variety that is better at dealing with severe cold winters then maybe it is not as well adapted to the variability of the UK climate. It might just have got some frost damage and that would be my guess as to why it has dropped its fruit and the leaves don't look very healthy. I'd be hopeful it should recover OK and have seen Holly with the top part completely killed re-sprout with new healthy growth from the roots.
I think it would have needed a helluva lot of severe frosts to make it look like that. That's not happened suddenly IMO. This sort of query is pretty standard fare on a gardening forum though, because people regularly buy plants with no idea of where they originate, and what their requirements are, and it isn't always their fault in any way either, because good info and care aren't always given at garden centres either. Plants are seen as a commodity, and it's understandable when buyers think it'll be easy, when it often isn't. I wonder what advice @wellhellotoyoutoo was given - if any. In 'ye olden days', when making a garden, we had to look through books and watch all the programmes to get the necessary info, but I think things have changed enormously, and people need a good source of the important info when choosing plants and caring for them. The forum is doing that job for many.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
No advice was given when I bought the holly at the garden centre. I did a bit of research and it looked as though I could keep it in a pot for a few years before it needed to go into the ground. I plan to plant it out once we move house IF it survives until then!
I will have a look for that book Trees for your garden by Allen Paterson. Thanks!
I think if you can keep it ticking over until spring, you can address it then. As long as it's not waterlogged or dried out, it should be ok. It's difficult to offer really appropriate advice from a few close up photos
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Posts
They're tough as old boots, but long term poor growing conditions can see off even the hardiest shrub. Too much/too little water, wrong soil medium etc.
In any case - just keep it steady over winter, check it isn't dried out or waterlogged [in which case move it somewhere it won't be, like against a house wall ] and wait until spring to see if there's any new life. Then it can be pruned back. Don't feed it until it's healthier - it will be counter productive.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
This sort of query is pretty standard fare on a gardening forum though, because people regularly buy plants with no idea of where they originate, and what their requirements are, and it isn't always their fault in any way either, because good info and care aren't always given at garden centres either. Plants are seen as a commodity, and it's understandable when buyers think it'll be easy, when it often isn't. I wonder what advice @wellhellotoyoutoo was given - if any.
In 'ye olden days', when making a garden, we had to look through books and watch all the programmes to get the necessary info, but I think things have changed enormously, and people need a good source of the important info when choosing plants and caring for them. The forum is doing that job for many.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I will have a look for that book Trees for your garden by Allen Paterson. Thanks!
It's difficult to offer really appropriate advice from a few close up photos
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...