Pencil Holly

Question

The Pencil Hollies on each side of my front door are getting out of shape. The bottoms are bare and there is too much at the top. If I prune the tops, I’m afraid that will stimulate more growth at the top. How does one properly prune pencil hollies?

Answer 1

I suggest you overall prune your trees, no more than one third of the growth. That should help stimulate the bottoms to throw new growth, while limiting the new growth at the top. And pruning should be done in the late fall, early winter when the trees are dormant. Actually it makes it easier for your to see how you want to shape your trees.