holly tree dying

bobbyss

My holly tree is dying i think. There are more and more empty spaces in it and i can see through it more and more. Empty branches appearing at the bottom.
I did cut a few branches last year and this year so that i could walk under it withiut being scratched. Its at least 30 or 40 years old. Maybe older.
What has caused this?

teamD

bobbyss wrote: »

My holly tree is dying i think. There are more and more empty spaces in it and i can see through it more and more. Empty branches appearing at the bottom.
I did cut a few branches last year and this year so that i could walk under it withiut being scratched. Its at least 30 or 40 years old. Maybe older.
What has caused this?

Hey did you get to the bottom of this? I have a similiar issue with my holly tree. Dont know what's wrong with it

macraignil

Maybe posting a photograph of the tree that is unwell might help figuring out what might be going wrong with your tree. There is a variegated holly tree in the garden of a derelict house next to where I live that is very old and had part blown down in a storm last year but still has some healthy growth and I'd expect it to continue growing for a good while more. It's hard to guess what the issue with the tree might be without some more information.

teamD

Pictures attached. The leaves have gone brown and are falling off, the branches are starting to go brown at the tips . Nearly the bottom half of the tree is empty at this stage. Tree is about 30 years old. It doesnt look like there is anything fungal.
Does anybody know if there is anything that will save it?
Thanks

charlesanto

I. aquifolium can exceed 10 m in height, but is often found at much smaller heights, typically 2–3 m (6.6–9.8 ft) tall and broad, with a straight trunk and pyramidal crown, branching from the base. It grows slowly and does not usually fully mature due to cutting or fire. It can live 500 years, but usually does not reach 100.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilex_aquifolium

It has a great capacity to adapt to different conditions and is a pioneer species that repopulates the margins of forests or clearcuts.

Seems holy is happy anywhere and lives forever

macraignil

teamD wrote: »

Pictures attached. The leaves have gone brown and are falling off, the branches are starting to go brown at the tips . Nearly the bottom half of the tree is empty at this stage. Tree is about 30 years old. It doesnt look like there is anything fungal.
Does anybody know if there is anything that will save it?
Thanks

Lots of healthy leaves in the photo so I don't see anything very serious. I think I can make out a clump of grass at the base of the trunk and pulling that out and keeping the area immediately next to the trunk free of competing vegetation should help it.

teamD

This is picture of the tree, and of the branches turning brown. the previous picture I was trying to show the brown leaves, and actually shows more of the bush behind it!
Thanks- sounds like it should be a bit more resilient , may give it another few months

looksee

That twig looks as though it might have what I would consider die-back. Have a look at this article https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=175 and see if it seems familiar.