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.