How do I keep my new holly bushes from getting "leggy" at the bottom?

[Ima Googler]

I'm getting ready to plant about 15 holly bushes along my fence row and I've been checking out bushes in the neighborhood to get ideas about what type I want to get. I've noticed that some of the hollies stay nice and thick at the bottom with no gap and you can't see their trunks because of the nice growth close to the ground. Others I see are thick with growth once they get about 6" off the ground and they are bare around the bottom of the trunk.

Does anyone know how to keep the growth thick all the way to the ground so that you can't see the trunk? I really prefer the way they look when the leaves are flush with the ground.

Thanks!

[David E. Ross]

This applies to all bushes with dense growth.

Plant them at least two feet from the fence so that some light reaches the bottom of the plant on the fence side.

When you trim them, make the tops more narrow than the bottoms; the tops should not shade the bottoms.

A sheared bush should look like this:

xxxx xxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx

It should not look like this:

xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxx xxxx

[Ima Googler]

Thanks for the diagram! That helps!

The fence we are trying to cover is chain link so we are hoping that the hollies will grow through it a bit to hide it from both sides.

I read something that said if you plant them too close together that they can develop this leggy look. Does anyone know if this is true?

We really need the bushes to merge and form a hedge as quickly as possible, but we don't want to plant them so close together that they don't thrive.

We're still trying to decide between Needlepoint and Nellie R Stevens. Any thoughts? Whats the absolute closest you'd plant these type hollies together?

[William Wagner]

We have had a few varieties of American holies about. Dr. Kasab which I had to remove was attractive. I'd suggest not planting in a straight line but in a staggered v formation about 5 or 10 feet away from your fence. Early on perhaps some other species in the gaps like Japanese Holly.

Think V's and inverted v's. inverted v's half size in crude diagram.

-------- Fence V ^V^V^

10 5 10 5 10 5 feet

Hope not too confusing!

Bill

[David E. Ross]

I have dwarf Burford holly (Ilex cornuta 'Burfordii Nana') forming a solid mass planted 2 ft apart.

According to Sunset, 'Nellie R Stevens' is a cross between Chinese holly (I. cornuta) and English holly (I. aquifolimn). It will grow 15-20 ft tall and 10 ft wide. To make a solid hedge, plant about 5 ft apart. To improve the setting of berries, plant a Chinese holly nearby for cross pollination.

I can't find 'Needlepoint' in my copy of Sunset.

Planted as a hedge, there will be some die-back between individual plants. That should not be noticeable except when the hedge is sheared or individual plants are severely pruned.

If your neighbor is agreeable, plant the hedge right against the chain link fence, to grow through it. Both sides of the hedge will get enough sun. However, if your neighbor moves away, be sure to talk to your new neighbor promptly. Obviously, the goal should be to have a good, secure, durable fence that no one sees because it is so hideous. Thus, a new neighbor (if approached correctly) should agree to keeping the hedge.

If you want a sheared hedge, plant in a straight line about 2-3 ft from the fence. However, constant shearing will reduce the crop of berries.

For an informal hedge that is trimmed only on occasion, mark a line about 2 ft from the fence. Then stagger the plants, alternating 2 ft on either side of the line. The resulting zigzag will not be pronounced, but there will be a pleasing irregularity. The plants that are 4 ft from the fence will still grow through the fence.

[David E. Ross]

OOPS!

I previously wrote [in part]:

For the English holly, I meant I. aquifolium.

[Ima Googler]

Thanks for all the wonderful information! David, when you say that your Dwarf Burfords are 2ft apart, do you mean root ball to root ball? (or is it 2 ft from the edge of each plant?)

[David E. Ross]

I mean two-foot centers. That is, the center of each planting hole is two feet from the center of the adjacent planting hole. Yes, real close. Remember, these don't grow full size. They are under our livingroom window. After all, we want to look out the window.

To the left is a more open planting of dwarf Rhaphiolepis indica. Elsewhere against the front of the house and along one property line are dwarf Syzygium paniculatum (eugenia). The idea is to avoid overwhelming a relatively small front yard.

Three individual (not a hedge), full-sized Rhaphiolepis are at the sidewalk. On the other side of the driveway is a large rosemary (taller than I am). There are also several trees. But they are either narrow (Podocarpus) or have no low branches.

For a verbal tour of my garden, check my gardening Web pages.