Holly die back

[Phil71]

Afternoon all, does anyone have any idea what might cause a Holly tree to die back like it has in the photo? Definitely nor fire damage.

Cheers... Phil

[arbormonkey]

Did the leaves have yellow. Or purple spots or marks before. Dropping

[One Buck]

Might a root have been severed, compacted, change in water table etc?

[Gary Prentice]

Phytophthora ilicis (sp?) may be the cause. There's some testing kits available for under a tenner which may be useful to confirm.

[Phil71]

Thanks for the replies, I didn't get to see it before last weekend, so not sure about what the leaves were like before, and no changes in ground conditions. If Phytopthora, any treatment or is felling necessary?

[arbormonkey]

Phytophthora ilicis (sp?) may be the cause. There's some testing kits available for under a tenner which may be useful to confirm.

 

i thought that could be a possibility. There is also the leaf miner that afects ilex it eats the inside tisuse of the leaves leaves the outer and vains in the leaf then they drop.

 

 

hope this helps jay

[Gary Prentice]

With the leaf miner, I think the pathways are visible, helping to aid identification.

 

With phytophthora there's no over the counter remedy, but if you've the right tickets there is a chemical available. It's expensive and its use may be outside of manufacturers guidelines. The name escapes me but I think it's made by a company called Synenergy or something like. It will come to me later.

[Phil71]

Cheers guys, I'll order a testing kit and see what that shows 👍

[Gary Prentice]

Cheers guys, I'll order a testing kit and see what that shows 👍

 

I don't think the kits actually identify which species it actually is, just that its phytophthora. Would you document your tests, as I haven't actually had the opportunity to do one myself?