If any of you have Savannah Holly trees, could you tell me if it is normal for them to go through a period in Spring when they don't look too great? Maybe pushing out the old leaves and putting out new ones, like the live oak trees? My Savannah Hollies are looking a bit "off color" with some yellow leaves, just not as good as they have looked before. It doesn't look like an iron deficiency.
We've put down some general fertilizer in the area where they are, but nothing specially targeted for the trees.
Thanks.
Savannah Holly question
Yes, they look a little puny right now. And do every spring. I give them some fertilizer to help them out...
Mine don't normally do that. It could be the fertilizer or it could be stress. Mine don't look too good right now because the snow broke some of their limbs and they haven't filled in yet.
My two have done the same thing here the four years I have had them. They are losing last year's leaves and will start putting on the new growth next month. My foster holly does the same thing. I fertilize mine with hollytone every year around March 1 (full strength) and September 1 (half strength).
Thank you all very much. I'm going to look for some Hollytone. I might need a good-sized bag, because I noticed a little bit of the same look on the Foster Hollies and the Nellie R, Stephens.
Just to cover my bases, I've taken off a few leaves and will take them by the nursery to show the owner. I'll let you know what he says.
Thanks again.
Well, mine are putting on new growth and kicking the old leaves off, but I wouldn't call them puny looking! LOL They just look a little shaggy right now.
One of my hollies does the same thing and I give the yellow leaves a blast of water. Otherwise it seems to be okay. Will look into the Hollytone also.
The man at the nursery said that it looked like a fungus. There are some yellow spots on the leaves; he said that the slight "halo" effect around them indicates fungus. Hmmm. Maybe two things going on at once. I have some Need Oil, and he recommended spraying the trees every couple of weeks for a while, and to make sure to get rid of the fallen leaves.
I still want to fertlize them, but I'm not sure when I should do it, since we're treating the fungus. Any ideas?
I think you want to do the neem oil before the temps get too high, that's about all I know.
Yes- thanks so much. The woman at the nursery counter told me she had fried a bunch of shrubs by spraying when it was too hot. She said that they defoliated and that she was not at all sure they'd come back-- but they did, just recently. A scary tale! To have to look at bare, dead-looking shrubs for the better part of a year-- when you were trying to help! It may be hard to find days cool enough, starting pretty soon.
If you're dealing with a fungus, you might try putting cornmeal down and even spraying with a cornmeal "tea". You could also try a baking soda spray.
Do you think those are okay to use when it's warmer? Not when the sun is shining it's hottest, but on summer mornings or late afternoons?
Yes, perfectly safe if used in early morning or late afternoon/early evening.
Thanks! One more question about the cornmeal- do you use plain old household variety for treating fungus? I'm not sure which garden tasks require the horticultural kind of cornmeal -- maybe preemergent weed control?
The horticultural kind. You can sprinkle it out to the drip line of the tree. At this stage of the game, it will act as a fertilizer for weeds. (ugh!) For the tea, you can put about a cup of the cornmeal in a piece of pantyhose and then place it in about a gallon of water and let it steep outside in the warm sun. Remove the pantyhose and toss the cornmeal out in the compost pile or on the yard. Use the VERY STINKY water to spray on your tree.
I'll do it. Thanks so much for the information!