inkberry holly-Densa - Ask Extension
Hello, I have 2 inkberry hollies-Densa. They are about 4-5 years old. Both have lost most of their leaves. Thought it was deer damage, but don't th...
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inkberry holly-Densa #865622
Asked April 23, 2024, 3:14 PM EDT
Hello, I have 2 inkberry hollies-Densa. They are about 4-5 years old. Both have lost most of their leaves. Thought it was deer damage, but don't think so. Can you please tell me what is the best way to care for these shrubs. I've looked up info and I'm getting conflicting info. This form will not accept my pictures. I've tried doing this on my IPhone but that will not accept pics either. Can I send them through another way?
Howard County Maryland
Expert Response
You should be able to attach photos to your question submission (or to any reply), but you can also paste them into the body of your reply. It helps if they are at least 1MB in size so we can magnify them, but smaller than 8MB so the system doesn't reject them for being too large.
Inkberry holly normally loses lower and inner leaves with age, though this can be exacerbated greatly by exposures not receiving full sun. (In the wild they are perfectly tolerant of less than full sun, they just get leggy.) If nearly all foliage is gone, then that suggests that the plants are struggling in some other way, such as soil that is staying too wet or dry. While inkberry in the wild is quite tolerant of wet conditions, in our experience, soils that don't drain very well increase the risk of root rot, which then causes leaf drop and branch dieback. One component impacting how likely a root rot may be could be soil acidity (pH) not being low enough for this acid-loving species, but we don't yet have local research to determine a likely cause, so this is an educated guess.
If you're able to send photos, we'll see if any particular symptoms look diagnostic.
Miri
Inkberry holly normally loses lower and inner leaves with age, though this can be exacerbated greatly by exposures not receiving full sun. (In the wild they are perfectly tolerant of less than full sun, they just get leggy.) If nearly all foliage is gone, then that suggests that the plants are struggling in some other way, such as soil that is staying too wet or dry. While inkberry in the wild is quite tolerant of wet conditions, in our experience, soils that don't drain very well increase the risk of root rot, which then causes leaf drop and branch dieback. One component impacting how likely a root rot may be could be soil acidity (pH) not being low enough for this acid-loving species, but we don't yet have local research to determine a likely cause, so this is an educated guess.
If you're able to send photos, we'll see if any particular symptoms look diagnostic.
Miri
I’ve attached 4 pics, 2 of each plant. They do receive almost full sun.
Thank you for the photos.
It's hard to tell what is going on, but the amount of new growth just starting to emerge is encouraging. Some of the bare, dark short stems can be trimmed off and might have resulted from less drastic root loss or infection. One branch might have died back due to old cicada damage from a few years ago, but we doubt that's behind all of the thinning. The branch with the broken/split end can be pruned back to a juncture with another branch.
For now, just monitor the plants for watering needs as our weather pattern dries out (if it does), feeling the soil about six inches deep and watering only if/when it becomes somewhat dry to the touch at that depth. Fertilizer should not be needed, and might cause more root stress if they are struggling, so no other intervention should be needed at this point. (Nor would use of a fungicide be helpful.)
Miri
It's hard to tell what is going on, but the amount of new growth just starting to emerge is encouraging. Some of the bare, dark short stems can be trimmed off and might have resulted from less drastic root loss or infection. One branch might have died back due to old cicada damage from a few years ago, but we doubt that's behind all of the thinning. The branch with the broken/split end can be pruned back to a juncture with another branch.
For now, just monitor the plants for watering needs as our weather pattern dries out (if it does), feeling the soil about six inches deep and watering only if/when it becomes somewhat dry to the touch at that depth. Fertilizer should not be needed, and might cause more root stress if they are struggling, so no other intervention should be needed at this point. (Nor would use of a fungicide be helpful.)
Miri
