Holly care

MULCHING
Mulching your holly bushes is essential to their health because it aids the plants in retaining moisture and acquiring the proper nutrients. Spread a two-inch layer of either compost or wood chips around the base of your holly bushes, leaving a gap of a few inches between the mulch and the trunk. This way, any
pests that have taken residence in the mulch will not damage the wood of the plants. 

FERTILIZE
fertilize your holly plants six weeks before the first expected frost of the season. An acid-based fertilizer works best for holly bushes. Make sure it is designed specifically for evergreens,


PRUNING
Overgrown branches can be pruned to within one-quarter of an inch of a leaf or bud. Light trimming can take place at any time, but save major alterations for winter after the plant's berries have bloomed.  



PLANTING



LOCATION
The optimal area to plant your holly bushes should receive full sun, although morning sun and afternoon shade is feasible.


WATERING
Water the plants once every week, or when the top two inches of the soil is dry. You should irrigate the plants around the base of the trunks, providing enough water to dampen the top eight inches of soil. This watering should continue throughout the winter, unless the ground is frozen.


TRANSPLANTING
Before you remove the holly bush from the ground, you will want to make sure that the new site for the holly shrub is prepared and ready. The less time the holly spends out of the ground, the more success it will have in not dying from the shock of being moved.
At the new site, dig a hole that will be larger than the root ball of the transplanted holly will be. Dig the hole deep enough so that the holly bush’s root ball can sit comfortably in the hole and that the holly will sit at the same level in the ground that it did at the previous location.
Once the hole is dug, dig up the holly bush. You want to make sure that you dig up as much of the root ball as possible. Dig at least 6 inches from the perimeter of where the leaves end and down about a foot or so. Holly shrubs have rather shallow root systems, so you do not have to dig deeply to reach the bottom of the root ball.
Once the holly shrub is dug out, quickly move the shrub to its new location. Place the holly in hole and spread the roots out in the hole. Then backfill the hole with soil. Step on the backfilled soil all the way around the holly bush to makes sure that there are no air pockets in the backfilled hole.
Water the transplanted holly thoroughly. Continue to water it daily for a week and after that water it deeply twice a week for one month.
The best time to transplant a holly bush is in early spring. Transplanting in early spring helps to keep the plant from losing its leaves due to the shock of being moved. This is because the extra rain in the spring and cool temperatures helps the plant retain moisture and this prevents it from shedding leaves as a way to retain moisture.
If absolutely necessary, you can transplant holly bushes in the early fall. The chances of the leaves dropping will be increased, but the holly bushes will most likely survive.

If you do end up with a naked holly after transplanting a holly, don’t panic. The chances are very good that the holly shrub will regrow the leaves and be just fine.