Renewal Pruning for a Yaupon Holly

Types

• In its natural range across the American Southeast, yaupon holly develops into a multi-stemmed shrub that develops suckers to make a dense thicket. It grows 10 to 20 feet tall and equally as wide. Numerous cultivars exist today for gardeners to grow, including upright small trees, weeping forms and the dwarfed mounding shrubs, perfect for low hedges, topiaries and foundation planting beds. All respond well to harsh pruning for a full plant rejuvenation.

Pruning Time

• The best time to conduct a rejuvenating pruning -- cutting back main branches to allow vigorous leafy sprouts to create a new, dense plant -- is just before new annual growth begins. The worst time for harsh pruning is from late spring to the start of winter. In southernmost Florida and Texas, the ideal rejuvenation pruning is done in late February, while across the Deep South it's in early March, and by April 1 farther north in its hardiness range. Cutting too late diminishes the plant of energy resources for regrowth, possibly making it more susceptible to leafy die back with onset of fall's first frosts.

Procedure

• To cause as little growth disruption or stress on a large, old or overgrown yaupon holly, conduct the rejuvenation over three subsequent years. In 1-year-olds, cut back one-third of the oldest, tallest or sickliest branches in late winter. On large shrubs or small trees, make the pruning cuts at a height of 24 to 36 inches. Next year, cut back another one-third of the remaining oldest, tallest branches, etc. On the smaller mounding cultivars, cutting out only one-third of the plant leaves an awkward silhouette, so shear back the entire plant to 10 to 18 inches tall. Some horticulturists will even cut back tree forms of yaupon flush with the ground and then select the strongest suckering shoot to become the new singular trunk.

Follow-Up Pruning

• New growth shoots sprout from the cut-back branches in late March or mid-April. They continue to grow thick and quickly through the summer. By mid-summer, trim back errant new growth to shape the plant, or thin out the number of new growth twigs to increase light and air penetration into the mop of foliage. Do not trim the rest of the summer or fall. If needed, remove dead, broken or diseased branches and leaves any time of year. If a tree was cut back flush with the soil, repeated pruning off of all but one new trunk is necessary to help create the new tree form.

Equipment

• Use hand pruners to cut into yaupon branches less than 3/4 inch in diameter. A set of loppers most effectively cuts thicker, tougher wood that is up to 1-1/2-inch thick. Use a pruning saw to cut through larger branches or trunks.