I have small rectangular white spots on the back of my holly bush leaves (one leaf may contain 5 or 6 spots) and some branches have a black sooty look (this does not wipe off). Sometimes both conditions are present on the same branch, but not always. Lots of new growth on the bush, what can I do?
It is possible that it is scale but sounds more like mealybugs. I like to treat both with neem oil. It is very effective and safe. The black residue is sooty mold, which is a side effect of the pests. Neem oil can treat this as well. These articles will help: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/problems/pests/neem-oil-uses.htm
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/pests/scale-bug-how-to-control-plant-scale.htm
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/pests/mealybugs-white-residue-on-plants-leaves.htm
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/disease/how-to-get-rid-of-sooty-mold.htm
Underneath the leaves are white, sticky, egg sacs - at least 4 per leaf. I see what could be spider mites everywhere - little red dots moving about in spider webs (there are tiny spiders chasing these red mites). My bushes are totally eaten up in spots but I do see new growth. Any comments would be appreciated. The tiny elongated egg sacks are sticky when touched but I see nothing emerging from them.
You've got a regular little mite city going there, don't you. The sticky white egg sacks are probably mealy bugs -- spider mite eggs are too small to see. The tiny spiders chasing the little red dots are just two different sizes of spider mites. At this point, you need to bring out the heavy artillery; don't waste time trying to blast them off with a hose. I'm going to give you an article about getting rid of the pesky little buggers, but whatever you use, be sure to use it 4 times at 7-10 day intervals.
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/pests/insects/spider-mite-treatment.htm
If you use a commercial miticide, you'll still need to spray for the mealy, as miticide won't touch them. Or you can use a neem oil and/or soap, which will hit them both.
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/pests/mealybugs-white-residue-on-plants-leaves.htm
Black coating on holly leaves.
Most likely this would be sooty mold. You can control it by following the advice in this article: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/extension-search/
We had 3 beautiful Holly bushes for over twelve years and they have always done well. This past Wisconsin winter they were covered with several feet of snow (almost double normal) and this spring as the snow melted they came out all brown and looked dead. Wife wants to pull them out and start over, but I hate to do that if we don't have too. As time has passed, the inside of all three bushes still appears dead but we are getting some nice green growth around the out sides of the bushes. My thoughts were to cut the dead center out and hope the new growth would eventually fill in the hole. Then after reading a bunch of the tips from this site, I don't know if I should cut out the dead centers, take off 1/3 over each bush over the next 3 years or just go for rejuvenating and cut them all back. What do you suggest?
Start by cutting out the dead branches. I think I would go for a rejuvenation pruning, but the choice is yours. Since you have 3 bushes, you might try a different approach with each one, to see what treatment you like best.
Have cleared a 20 ft run of ivy for 8 holly trees (18 ft high). Not a lot of foliage for the first 8 ft. I need to thicken the trees to return a 50 year old hedge.
Sounds like you might be talking about a rejuvenation pruning. This article should tell you more: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/shrubs/holly/trimming-holly-bushes-how-to-prune-holly-bushes.htm
If this seems too drastic to use on all the bushes at once, you can prune just a few branches at a time.
My 5 year old standard holly has a sooty like deposit on the leaves, black and very clumpy. It will wash off but under the leaf are white strips with a brown dot, and these do not wash off. It is standing with ivy and clematis in a pot. Any idea or is it bin time?
Sounds like sooty mold, which you can learn about here: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/disease/how-to-get-rid-of-sooty-mold.htm
The white strips and brown dot bit sounds like it might be scale insects, which are causing the sooty mold in the first place. When you're treating the sooty mold, you're actually getting rid of the honeydew-producing insects.
My landscaper cut down my holly bushes to the ground. Will they grow back?
They should. This would be a super-drastic form of rejuvenation pruning https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/shrubs/shgen/rejuvenation-pruning-tips.htm
but the plant should be able to grow back. BTW, did you get a new landscaper?