leaves on holly bush turned brown this winter

Question

What has caused the leaves on my holly bush to turn brown this winter? My holly trees have gotten brown leaves all over this winter.  The stems are not dead. Should we prune them now and will the leaves grown back?

Answer 1

It sounds like your plant may have some winter burn. Fortunately, hollies are better at recovering from this than many other evergreen plants.

I would wait to prune. Once spring is fully underway, check the damaged stems. If the are pliable, the leaves have a good chance of regrowing. If they are brittle, they are dead and need to be removed.

This article will explain more about winter burn:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/environmental/winter-burn-in-evergreens.htm