American Holly Bush

Question

This past fall (in CT) I transplanted several holly bushes. They greened nicely but this spring, the leaves on several have begun to lighten, and in some cases, go brown all together. This is not on all, but a few, and seems to be getting worse as weather warms. I am unsure if it is a disease or transplant shock. I have a good pH soil and water frequently, but they do not want to bounce back. Several are in full time sun while others are in 6 to 8 hours of sun, but all seem to have this issue.

Answer 1

How has the weather been where you are? Has it been unusually cold? Are the leaves that are turning light green or brown dropping? Let us know this and we can better advise you on how best to fix the issue.

If you have had a few nights where it was near or below 10 degrees F., the tree may start to go dormant and would act like a deciduous tree, changing leaf color and dropping leaves. This could be especially true of newly planted shrubs/trees, as the weather change would cause some confusion. However, it should recover on its own and grow new leaves once the weather returns to normal.