Forum home› Problem solving
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

Holly dropping leaves

GunStreetGirlGunStreetGirl Posts: 62
in Problem solving
My mum about us a holly plant a few weeks ago. It is a 4 year old Ilex aquifolium, and she was advised we wouldn't need a male and female plant for it to produce berries.
Now we planted it out about 2 weeks ago, and it has started to drop leaves that have yellowed slightly.  I have read of transplant shock so wondering if it is likely that causing it? It has rained a huge amount in the last weeks so I have not watered it at all.
Also, shouldn't it already have berries at this time of year? There are none at all.

Posts

  • Singing GardenerSinging Gardener Posts: 1,237
    As I understand it, ilex aquifolium plants can either be male or female and only the female plants will produce berries. A female plant will need a nearby male ilex (of any variety) in order to produce berries.
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    All evergreens will drop some old leaves from time to time throughout the year. Transplanting might have had some effect, but it looks as if it has plenty of green leaves so I wouldn't worry about that.
    I think I can see flower buds in your first picture so maybe it's having a late fling. If they open up you should be able to tell whether it's female or male by looking at the flower parts https://www.thespruce.com/difference-in-male-and-female-holly-bushes-2132269.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • LiriodendronLiriodendron Posts: 8,328
    There's at least one self-fertile holly - JC van Tol is the one we used to sell when I worked in a garden centre.  Hopefully you have a self-fertile one.  I can see that it has flower buds, those knobbly things in the leaf axils, so next year you should be able to tell if a) it's self fertile, in which case you'll have berries; b) you have berries because it's female, but there's a male tree close enough to pollinate it; or c) it's male and you don't get any berries...

    Was it a pot-grown tree?  If so, provided the roots weren't pot bound and the root ball was damp when you planted it, there shouldn't be any transplant shock.  If it was a bare root holly the leaf drop could be due to this - but I wouldn't worry at this stage as it seems to have plenty of healthy leaves.  Evergreen plants like holly lose old leaves throughout the year, instead of in one fell swoop in autumn, which is what deciduous trees and shrubs do.
    Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
  • GunStreetGirlGunStreetGirl Posts: 62
    Thanks everyone, I suppose we'll have to wait and see then. @Liriodendron I have no idea how long it had been in the pot it arrived in. I could see lots of roots, but not sure what pot bound really looks like.
  • LiriodendronLiriodendron Posts: 8,328
    If the roots are going round & round inside the pot, so you can see more root than compost, they need teasing out when you plant it or they just continue to grow the same way.  In addition, a pot-bound plant needs soaking (in its pot) in a bucket of water, sometimes for an hour or more, before planting to make sure its rootball is thoroughly wet.  It's difficult for rain - even persistent rain - to penetrate the dense roots otherwise.
    Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
  • shane.farrellshane.farrell Posts: 207
    As a general rule I'd always flood the area around a newly planted specimen, let it soak in, then soak again and the it's on its own unless there's a really dry spell. My large Holly drops quite a few leaves each year mainly as the growing season starts. Transplant can also cause his as you suggest.
Sign In or Register to comment.