I have two Sky Pencil one in the ground, one in a pot. I’m zone 9b and both are doing great. They are in full sun and I have not experienced any tip burn or problems. They are two years old now. Love them
5b here on well-drained slope. I've had three in the ground for two winters. One more shady than other two; I water them liberally, all three have grown about the same, maybe 6 inches a year. That same excellent tip about so many shrubs: chop them shorter to strengthen stems. Love this advice, thanks.
I live in 5B/6 a but I don't have a sky pencil Holly. I'm going to get one now. Never heard of it until now. Jim Putnam has the best channel out there on TH-cam. The education that he brings is unmeasurable.. ❤❤
I’ve wanted one for ages but just a heads-up that I talked to a nursery owner, locally, earlier this summer who warned me against them here (zone 6a). Apparently they don’t always take / may not survive the winter. Yet I talked to another nursery who sells them here in the Toronto area and says that’s not been his experience. So I guess, proceed with caution??? And maybe try to get one on sale so it’s not a huge hit if it goes (I just lost a $200 weeping spruce - I felt that one! 😭). I ended up with a columnar yew and a pencil point juniper instead to play it safe but they’re not as nice in looks as this Holly to me 😔.
I am in the NC mountains, zone 6a (maybe 6b) at close to 4K feet. I have 4 pencil holly in the ground: 2 have experienced a winter and survived. The other 2 were planted this spring and so far they are looking great. Last winter was relatively mild so we’ll see how they do this winter. I also tried 2 pencil holly in pots last year and left them out in winter; that was a disaster. Those 2 dried up and died. 😢
This is the video I have needed for 2 years. Thank you. I bought the smallest sky pencil holly to put in 2 tall patio containers. So far so good. I did know to keep them pruned but I needed the tips on watering and mites.
I'm in zone 5 I believe I have 2 of them in the front of my house..they were already planned when we moved in and was doing great up until this year. Don't know why but they started to lose a lot of leaves, so it's starting to look bare in some spots.(ben here 6 years)
Youre very knowledgeable. I have (had) 40 sky pencil holly on my property in Houston. We put them in 2 summers ago and I've lost about half of them. Last summer was a hot and dry one so I made sure to have them on a drip line id run every night for 6 hours. You've made me realize it's too hot here for this plant and I've wasted money😂. I'm going to use a bit of holly food on them through this summer and see if that helps.
Sounds like WAY TOO MUCH WATER! Drip or not! My Guess Pythium Root Rot! Just stop watering all together! If you made it out of the First Year then you should be good to go! DEFINITELY CUT BACK ON THE WATER THOUGH! - -SIGNED A 27 YEAR PROFESSIONAL IN THIS INDUSTRY
I sure wish I had seen this two or three years ago- planted 3 next to front steps that go up along side of my house- looked great until they didn’t!! Not pruned nor proper water…maybe I’ll try again!! Thanks for the lesson😂 Jeannette
I’ve just discovered this plant a few months ago and purchased 3 and they are all thriving in pots. They add structure and interest in the garden. They are in flower at the moment as it is spring here in Australia.🇦🇺 😃
zone 5 Here, we have 6 of them all around 5 feet tall right now. if they are by a gutter downspout they will get too much water. a had to divert the water with a concrete spout on the ground.
I have killed every Sky Pencil Holly I've ever planted. Either too much water or not enough. In the ground, I could never hit the right balance of moisture.
I moved into a house a with several Sky Pencils already planted in the backyard. There are two, right next to each other, that look great and have now grown to over 8 feet tall. All of the others have either defoliated and died (the most common outcome) or have survived but are struggling, barely any bigger than they were 5 years ago. I'm glad there are two happy ones, but the reason why some did great and others awful is a mystery to me, so I wouldn't plant any more.
I have two sky pencil hollies planted in my backyard. I have 5 foot tutuers from Lowe's over them, which do not constrict the plants. These are the only ones I've had that haven't died within a year of being planted. So far, so good.
Thankyou for this great review on this great Evergreen plant. I have 3 Sky Pencil hollies of which1 that I have never pruned (the other 2 were pruned by the horse & the goat 😮). The one is nearly 20 feet tall & doing just what you described. How much can I take off this fall so I don't get the spraying out with the snow? I have it tied with garden twine but would like to take it off. Thanks for your help
Mine is dying. The heat was I guess too much even though I watered it. I’m hoping it’ll come back even though it’s not completely dead. Or maybe I’m missing something. I’m in zone 6b-7.
I'm in Zone 5b/6. Two plants. Neither doing well. Turned blue-ish green. Dropping leaves. One gets 1/2 day sun, the other less. Maybe I'll try to save them by moving them. I love this bush. Wish I knew what went wrong.
Any tips for reducing height without creating the flat top? Don’t care for the beheaded look. Those in the video have gently staggered tops and look great. BTW, mine briefly splayed this summer then corrected themselves.
Zone 6b here. My property came with a 12-15 year old Sky Pencil. It's about 10 ft. tall, planted at the top of a retaining wall on the south side of the property where it receives hot, full sun all day, so very well drained! We had a drought last year and I watered the herb garden (mostly Mediterranean plants) that is beside the Sky Pencil so it probably received some supplemental water. I haven't seen any signs of stress. It does have branches that splay out. I pruned off the splayed branches late winter this year but we have had some exceptionally torrential rains (8 inches in 3 hours) this summer and now there are new "splayers." Any tips for dealing with it at this point? Maybe take it down some on each branch? Will branches push leaves out below where leaves are currently growing? This plant functions as a stand-in for an Italian cypress, which would not be hardy here. Thanks for this video -- I will know what to do with SP if I buy new, young ones.
During the winter or if u know there’s a bad storm coming, tie and wind a piece of rope/string around the whole plant. You don’t have to go crazy with it, just make sure it’s together. Alternatively you can use a tarp then rope (this is the only way fig trees survive winter in the northeast!)
I don’t think I’ve ever seen these used in a landscape that looked pleasing to me. Maybe because they weren’t pruned and they just took on an odd shape.
I bought two of these for containers that flag an entrance to walk up. I put mine in containers because of my crappy soil in zone 6a., Should i bring them up to my covered porch for wint winter?
In 9b with morning shade and by 12 direct hot sun till sunset. I have a every narrow bed area along my solid garage wall. Its hot! I need something that's tall thin and dense to cool the reflected sun. Any thing out there that fits this need? I have an HOA that's very strict about plants and vines. Any suggestions wood be great. I only have about 3 feet to work with. Thanks.
I wish I had done this to my fern spray hinoki falsecypress that is now splayed out so much it’s really unattractive. Rookie error. I’m definitely wrapping my more delicate evergreens moving fwd (Toronto area zone 6a, can get very heavy snowfalls and high piling up around the beds).
I bought 7 from home Depot 2 years ago. Immediately repotted them because they were in smallish containers. I'd like to propagate them to make a few more but you've never covered propagation. Can you please do a video on propagating them? Thank you
I have two Sky Pencil one in the ground, one in a pot. I’m zone 9b and both are doing great. They are in full sun and I have not experienced any tip burn or problems. They are two years old now. Love them
5b here on well-drained slope. I've had three in the ground for two winters. One more shady than other two; I water them liberally, all three have grown about the same, maybe 6 inches a year. That same excellent tip about so many shrubs: chop them shorter to strengthen stems. Love this advice, thanks.
I live in 5B/6 a but I don't have a sky pencil Holly. I'm going to get one now. Never heard of it until now. Jim Putnam has the best channel out there on TH-cam. The education that he brings is unmeasurable.. ❤❤
I’ve wanted one for ages but just a heads-up that I talked to a nursery owner, locally, earlier this summer who warned me against them here (zone 6a). Apparently they don’t always take / may not survive the winter. Yet I talked to another nursery who sells them here in the Toronto area and says that’s not been his experience. So I guess, proceed with caution??? And maybe try to get one on sale so it’s not a huge hit if it goes (I just lost a $200 weeping spruce - I felt that one! 😭). I ended up with a columnar yew and a pencil point juniper instead to play it safe but they’re not as nice in looks as this Holly to me 😔.
I'm in Toronto, they're on a fence, there's very little wind, they've made it through the winter
I am in the NC mountains, zone 6a (maybe 6b) at close to 4K feet. I have 4 pencil holly in the ground: 2 have experienced a winter and survived. The other 2 were planted this spring and so far they are looking great. Last winter was relatively mild so we’ll see how they do this winter. I also tried 2 pencil holly in pots last year and left them out in winter; that was a disaster. Those 2 dried up and died. 😢
This is the video I have needed for 2 years. Thank you. I bought the smallest sky pencil holly to put in 2 tall patio containers. So far so good. I did know to keep them pruned but I needed the tips on watering and mites.
Just have to say, I love how you show the bloopers at the end of your video. I can 100% relate as I’m an introvert.
I'm in zone 5 I believe I have 2 of them in the front of my house..they were already planned when we moved in and was doing great up until this year. Don't know why but they started to lose a lot of leaves, so it's starting to look bare in some spots.(ben here 6 years)
Youre very knowledgeable. I have (had) 40 sky pencil holly on my property in Houston. We put them in 2 summers ago and I've lost about half of them. Last summer was a hot and dry one so I made sure to have them on a drip line id run every night for 6 hours. You've made me realize it's too hot here for this plant and I've wasted money😂. I'm going to use a bit of holly food on them through this summer and see if that helps.
Sounds like WAY TOO MUCH WATER! Drip or not! Sounds like you have Pythium Root Rot!
Sounds like WAY TOO MUCH WATER! Drip or not! My Guess Pythium Root Rot! Just stop watering all together! If you made it out of the First Year then you should be good to go! DEFINITELY CUT BACK ON THE WATER THOUGH! -
-SIGNED A 27 YEAR PROFESSIONAL IN THIS INDUSTRY
I sure wish I had seen this two or three years ago- planted 3 next to front steps that go up along side of my house- looked great until they didn’t!! Not pruned nor proper water…maybe I’ll try again!! Thanks for the lesson😂
Jeannette
I’ve just discovered this plant a few months ago and purchased 3 and they are all thriving in pots.
They add structure and interest in the garden.
They are in flower at the moment as it is spring here in Australia.🇦🇺 😃
I just purchased 8…they are in a bed next to the garage. Let’s see what happens in Savannah GA next season. 🤞🏽
How are they doing so far?- Atlanta
I brought 1 from Home Depot! Beautiful❣️Houston 9a partial sun, container .
Great review!
zone 5 Here, we have 6 of them all around 5 feet tall right now. if they are by a gutter downspout they will get too much water. a had to divert the water with a concrete spout on the ground.
Thank you Jim. 🌺💚🙃
Great info thx!😊
I have killed every Sky Pencil Holly I've ever planted. Either too much water or not enough. In the ground, I could never hit the right balance of moisture.
I moved into a house a with several Sky Pencils already planted in the backyard. There are two, right next to each other, that look great and have now grown to over 8 feet tall. All of the others have either defoliated and died (the most common outcome) or have survived but are struggling, barely any bigger than they were 5 years ago. I'm glad there are two happy ones, but the reason why some did great and others awful is a mystery to me, so I wouldn't plant any more.
I have two sky pencil hollies planted in my backyard. I have 5 foot tutuers from Lowe's over them, which do not constrict the plants. These are the only ones I've had that haven't died within a year of being planted. So far, so good.
@jenniferhooks2454 Good luck, Jennifer! 🤞
Costco has them for 21.00. I bought 9 of them, lol❤😅🤣😂
Thankyou for this great review on this great Evergreen plant. I have 3 Sky Pencil hollies of which1 that I have never pruned (the other 2 were pruned by the horse & the goat 😮). The one is nearly 20 feet tall & doing just what you described. How much can I take off this fall so I don't get the spraying out with the snow? I have it tied with garden twine but would like to take it off. Thanks for your help
Hi Jim, pls do a video on Carolina Cypress. 🙏
Mine is dying. The heat was I guess too much even though I watered it. I’m hoping it’ll come back even though it’s not completely dead. Or maybe I’m missing something. I’m in zone 6b-7.
I'm in Zone 5b/6. Two plants. Neither doing well. Turned blue-ish green. Dropping leaves. One gets 1/2 day sun, the other less. Maybe I'll try to save them by moving them. I love this bush. Wish I knew what went wrong.
Any tips for reducing height without creating the flat top? Don’t care for the beheaded look. Those in the video have gently staggered tops and look great.
BTW, mine briefly splayed this summer then corrected themselves.
I bought two of these last spring. One died and the other is struggling in Zone 9b. I think they do need a lot more water than you would think.
Zone 6b here. My property came with a 12-15 year old Sky Pencil. It's about 10 ft. tall, planted at the top of a retaining wall on the south side of the property where it receives hot, full sun all day, so very well drained! We had a drought last year and I watered the herb garden (mostly Mediterranean plants) that is beside the Sky Pencil so it probably received some supplemental water. I haven't seen any signs of stress. It does have branches that splay out. I pruned off the splayed branches late winter this year but we have had some exceptionally torrential rains (8 inches in 3 hours) this summer and now there are new "splayers." Any tips for dealing with it at this point? Maybe take it down some on each branch? Will branches push leaves out below where leaves are currently growing? This plant functions as a stand-in for an Italian cypress, which would not be hardy here. Thanks for this video -- I will know what to do with SP if I buy new, young ones.
During the winter or if u know there’s a bad storm coming, tie and wind a piece of rope/string around the whole plant. You don’t have to go crazy with it, just make sure it’s together. Alternatively you can use a tarp then rope (this is the only way fig trees survive winter in the northeast!)
what do you recommend for dry places
I don’t think I’ve ever seen these used in a landscape that looked pleasing to me. Maybe because they weren’t pruned and they just took on an odd shape.
Same. My neighbor has them and they look out of place
I have pavers approximately 3’ away from planting location will the root structure be a problem
I bought two of these for containers that flag an entrance to walk up. I put mine in containers because of my crappy soil in zone 6a., Should i bring them up to my covered porch for wint winter?
How often should I water them
In 9b with morning shade and by 12 direct hot sun till sunset. I have a every narrow bed area along my solid garage wall. Its hot! I need something that's tall thin and dense to cool the reflected sun. Any thing out there that fits this need? I have an HOA that's very strict about plants and vines. Any suggestions wood be great. I only have about 3 feet to work with. Thanks.
Get a Eugenia topiary.
I’ve seen many people wrap them with some kind of twine in the winter so the snow doesn’t split them. Do you recommend this ?
I wish I had done this to my fern spray hinoki falsecypress that is now splayed out so much it’s really unattractive. Rookie error. I’m definitely wrapping my more delicate evergreens moving fwd (Toronto area zone 6a, can get very heavy snowfalls and high piling up around the beds).
1000%we wrap ours in burlap every winter. almost lost them one winter in an ice storm
I bought 7 from home Depot 2 years ago. Immediately repotted them because they were in smallish containers. I'd like to propagate them to make a few more but you've never covered propagation. Can you please do a video on propagating them? Thank you
Outs did so great this yr until we had our son’s dog for a time! Oops he loved , it did not!
I see sky pencil holly all over 9a.
Every single one is dead or on it's way out.