Garden

[gardenman]

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@wildcat fan wrote:

Thank you for sharing that information, @gardenman.  I found it very interesting and I can see the theory applied to my own experiences.  At my previous home, I battled with overgrown hollies that were planted in the back corner next to our house.  There were four of them that were overgrown when we bought the house.  After pruning them once, I realized why the previous owners had let them go.  Ouch!  Many times I swore I'd never own another holly, but here I am with four and looking for more.  I planted three dwarf Burford hollies in one spot and an oak leaf holly in another.  I haven't tried to prune them--just pretty much left them alone and they don't seem to be very prickly at all.  I was wondering if this was due to different variety or soil, but I now see it could be because we don't bother them.

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It's pretty neat stuff isn't it? Who knew plants could adapt like that to stress? I think leaving a holly tree alone is a very, very good strategy.