Probably over pruned my holly

[Unfortunate Fool]

Hi,

 

I have a holly (right) which has recently been stifled by another tree (left). The effects were/are the holly has struggled while the other has flourished.  I resolved to thin out the other tree to help the holly recover, especially as most of the lower branches only had leaves at the end of the branch, and once trimmed, only a bare, leafless branch remained, making it look a little spindly. However, I suspect I've gone a little too far with the holly so I would appreciate any advice. 

 

I read I shouldn't have trimmed off the lower branches which worries me, but then I also read that hollies are quite resilient and it should re-shoot.

 

Give me to straight.

 

Thanks!

 

UF.

 

[Dan Maynard]

Personally I'd lose the elder completely, grind or dig the stump or it'll sprout back to that in a few years. Then give the holly a year or two to recover and see the best way to reshape it.

 

The holly on its own could be reshaped and then trimmed nicely as a feature tree.

[Unfortunate Fool]

Thank you! I suspect this is probably the case for my two.

 

Thanks!

 

UF.

[organic guy]

I believe elder releases cyanide or something similar to kill it's neighbours to reduce competition.

[Unfortunate Fool]

3 hours ago, organic guy said:

I believe elder releases cyanide or something similar to kill it's neighbours to reduce competition.

 

Well, that's just not cricket!  Thanks for the info, very useful.

 

Thanks!

 

UF.

[Mark Bolam]

4 hours ago, organic guy said:

I believe elder releases cyanide or something similar to kill its neighbours to reduce competition.

That’s not elder, it’s immigrants.

I read it in The Guardian.

[Unfortunate Fool]

Evening,

 

Another question: if I am to lose the elder tree/bush, is there a good way to remove it or just get at it with a saw and go hell for leather until it's reduced to a stump?

 

Thanks!

 

UF.

[peds]

Well there's possibly a bit more in the way of technique to be applied if you want the process to look in any way skillful, but yeah, that's essentially it.

 

Are you talking hand saw or chain saw?

 

Take off the green bits as close to the main stems as you can with a pair of loppers, in as big a chunks as you can manage, to take the weight off the woody bits and make them easier to deal with. 

Then a hand saw should do each stem in a single go.

 

It'll shoot up again from the base, there's nothing stopping you from keeping it as a tidy little shrub by trimming it at nipple, navel, or knee height twice a year. 

[Unfortunate Fool]

3 hours ago, peds said:

Well there's possibly a bit more in the way of technique to be applied if you want the process to look in any way skillful, but yeah, that's essentially it.

 

Are you talking hand saw or chain saw?

 

Take off the green bits as close to the main stems as you can with a pair of loppers, in as big a chunks as you can manage, to take the weight off the woody bits and make them easier to deal with. 

Then a hand saw should do each stem in a single go.

 

It'll shoot up again from the base, there's nothing stopping you from keeping it as a tidy little shrub by trimming it at nipple, navel, or knee height twice a year. 

 

I have loppers, hand saw, and chain saw. Not making it look like a pig's ear is probably the main aim. I'd like to drastically reduce its space next to the holly, ideally.

 

Thanks!

 

UF.

[peds]

Yeah, no problem at all reducing the space it takes, and keeping it as a tiny wee bush answers the question of what to do with a stump that keeps growing back... just let it, instead of fighting it.

[Unfortunate Fool]

2 hours ago, peds said:

Yeah, no problem at all reducing the space it takes, and keeping it as a tiny wee bush answers the question of what to do with a stump that keeps growing back... just let it, instead of fighting it.

Magic. Thank you.

 

Thanks!

 

UF.