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Holly Bush spots and yellow leaves

Posted: April 7th, 2021, 1:40 pm
by gwolf64
See photos. My holly bush is having issues. What can I do to fix?!?

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Re: Holly Bush spots and yellow leaves

Posted: April 8th, 2021, 7:53 am
by edslawn
Looks like a pest... Maybe try Sevin dust.

Re: Holly Bush spots and yellow leaves

Posted: April 8th, 2021, 8:31 am
by gwolf64
Thanks for the info! What kind of pest would do this?!?!

Re: Holly Bush spots and yellow leaves

Posted: April 8th, 2021, 8:39 am
by andy10917
How long ha the Holly Bush been in that location, and if you've done a soil test, what were the Iron number and pH ???

Re: Holly Bush spots and yellow leaves

Posted: April 8th, 2021, 8:43 am
by gwolf64
This bush has been there since 2018. Have not done a soil test under the plant.... The closest test I have in in my grass adjacent to this plant. The grass area is PH of 7.3 and iron at 134ppm.

Re: Holly Bush spots and yellow leaves

Posted: April 8th, 2021, 8:47 am
by andy10917
That could be your problem. Hollies like acidic soil and have problems getting enough Iron in alkaline soils.

Re: Holly Bush spots and yellow leaves

Posted: April 8th, 2021, 9:01 am
by gwolf64
This may sound like a noob question....but.... I assume I can use a Sulphur product to lower PH....? Would this be the best product? I am guessing I need to slowly make PH mods like this....?

Re: Holly Bush spots and yellow leaves

Posted: April 8th, 2021, 9:12 am
by andy10917
If I were you, I'd call my cooperative extension office and discuss it with them. I don't know if Holly Tar Spot is prevalent in your area, or if this is a just an Iron deficiency. You could try feeding it Milorganite, which has a naturally-chelated form of Iron in it.

Re: Holly Bush spots and yellow leaves

Posted: April 8th, 2021, 11:05 am
by gwolf64
Just contacted my local co-op and shared the photos with him. He recommended additional nitrogen and over time this nitrogen will lower the PH..... After reviewing the photos more closely, he said the leaf color and brown spots were not what he was expecting so he is going to do more research and email me results.

Re: Holly Bush spots and yellow leaves

Posted: April 8th, 2021, 2:30 pm
by MorpheusPA
That's smart. For nitrogen to lower pH, urea isn't a bad choice. It's cheap as well, and the primary component of most high-nitrogen lawn foods that you'd use on your lawn anyway.

More expensive choices that lower pH a bit faster are available if you like. Using something like Holly Tone to fertilize your bush can certainly help.

Most shrubs are pretty flexible in terms of pH. I have azaleas and rhododendrons growing in soils that are at the top acceptable pH and even somewhat higher. The plants don't care. Still, you can't push it too far...

pH can be lowered with surface-applied sulfur, but it's slow and it's better to scratch it in, at least (you'll lose plenty of it to the air as sulfur dioxide, or smog). Others may suggest aluminum sulfate...which is a horrible idea in my book. If you're going to do that, use ferrous sulfate instead, which is, at least, less toxic and a considerably less horrible idea.