Japanese Holly/ ilex crenata going yellow??

springer111

Hi all
I planted this hedge in last June. It seemed to thrive and grew a fair bit. I cant help but wonder about its health though. Is it meant to take on this yellow appearance? It is the Dark green variety that I supposedly purchased. The plants when planted had only dark leaves. Now some dark leaves are there but most are golden yellow. They look healthy otherwise. Drainage doesnt seem to be an issue. What do ye think?

standardg60

Is it just the new leaves that are yellow?
The new leaves will be brighter then darken as they age.
Google a few images and see if they match yours.

springer111

Pic

springer111

Sorry here is the picture. It seems to be older leaves aswell.

springer111

Close up

standardg60

Ok, is there any drainage in that bed at all or is concreted at the bottom? The soil looks very damp considering we've had very little rain recently.

springer111

I had just watered it last night as it was bone dry and soil cracking . There are big stones at the bottom for drainage and holes out of the wall to at the bottom to take any water... does that sound ok. The soil does go very very dry if no rain so I'm presuming drainage isnt an issue??

standardg60

That sounds fine.
My next suggestion is that the soil itself is very heavy clay, which would tally with it cracking now, whilst it would be extremely moisture holding in the winter.
In essence they look malnourished and struggling with water-logging, so give a granular feed and don't water for the next few weeks and see how they do.

springer111

Ok thanks for your advise. I will post back here

springer111

Sorry just a thought. Would there be any point in me trying to pry one out and see what's going on down below??

GinSoaked

You sure you didn't plant the dwarf golden form Ilex crenata Golden Gem?

springer111

That's a concern I have. Was I given the right plants. I ordered and purchased the dark green variety. I have the order forms/receipt etc. They were dark green when I got them. Would the golden gem be dark green as small plants?

GinSoaked

It all looks too even to be a growing problem. The golden form has green leaves behind the yellow ones where they are shaded. Were yours clipped before you got them.

btw they look good to me.

springer111

I dont know to be honest. This was them when they were just planted.

standardg60

springer111 wrote: »

Sorry just a thought. Would there be any point in me trying to pry one out and see what's going on down below??

I'd expect you would find a weak root system, and i wouldn't advise disturbing them more.

GinSoaked

tbh, I don't think there is anything there to worry about. Plants all look healthy (without that blotchiness you get on some of the lower leaves on the golden form) and ilex crenata new growth can be a bit yellow, if yours is growing really well then it may be growing faster than it can create chlorophyll and will eventually go green.

standardg60

GinSoaked wrote: »

You sure you didn't plant the dwarf golden form Ilex crenata Golden Gem?

That thought did occur to me too, but not when i saw them.
Uniform water-logging would lead to uniform yellowing.

standardg60

GinSoaked wrote: »

tbh, I don't think there is anything there to worry about. Plants all look healthy (without that blotchiness you get on some of the lower leaves on the golden form) and ilex crenata new growth can be a bit yellow, if yours is growing really well then it may be growing faster than it can create chlorophyll and will eventually go green.

Maybe we'll have to agree to disagree on this one!
If you zoom in on the first pic again you will see that the plant nearest the camera has one stem paler than the rest which looks to be dying off and also one or two leaves starting to do the same.
Following my advice is not going to do any harm anyway.

springer111

So of course I couldnt resist having a peep further as I have spares. The plant came away with out much prying at it. The soil seems very dry. (I actually didnt get to these ones last night when watering). Pics show soil quality. Does it seem waterlogged?? Also the pot I had planted some spares shows the same yellowing....
Thanks so much for all the advice.

springer111

I dont know was I just sold the wrong plants.... the more i look at it..... how can i identify for sure if this is the problem.... where do I stand with the nursery that sold me the plants. I purchased nearly €300 worth of them and then the work that went in to planting etc...

Hopefully I'm wrong......��

standardg60

springer111 wrote: »

So of course I couldnt resist having a peep further as I have spares. The plant came away with out much prying at it. The soil seems very dry. (I actually didnt get to these ones last night when watering). Pics show soil quality. Does it seem waterlogged?? Also the pot I had planted some spares shows the same yellowing....
Thanks so much for all the advice.

Pictures tell a thousand words!
The soil doesn't look dry to me at all, does it form a ball easily?
The rootball is indeed showing the effects of water-logging, lots of dead root and only a small bit of healthy white root, which is only regrowing now as the soil dries out. The reason the plants are starting to yellow is because there's not enough root to supply adequate nutrient.
Feeding will help what roots there are, and not watering will help more to grow.

standardg60

springer111 wrote: »

I dont know was I just sold the wrong plants.... the more i look at it..... how can i identify for sure if this is the problem.... where do I stand with the nursery that sold me the plants. I purchased nearly €300 worth of them and then the work that went in to planting etc...

Hopefully I'm wrong......��

You're worrying too much. Replant that one and just let nature take its course.
I'd imagine they'll recover in another couple of months.

springer111

It doesnt form a ball if I squeeze some together in my hand . Even went way further down below roots and and that soils is loose and dry aswell.

springer111

I know... it's just bugging me. What am I like... hopefully it will recover.

I appreciate the help. Thank you

standardg60

springer111 wrote: »

It doesnt form a ball if I squeeze some together in my hand . Even went way further down below roots and and that soils is loose and dry aswell.

Must be just the way it's looking in the pics.
Anyway give them a feed and see how they go.