Yaupon Holly – Pruning a Tall One
![img_0835 | Walter Reeves: The Georgia Gardener](https://t9e4s3i5.rocketcdn.me/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/IMG_0835-600x450.jpg)
Q: These hollies have gotten much taller than the house and look messy. I’d like to cut the trunks much lower. If I do that will the tops eventually grow back, only lower? That way I could keep them trimmed better.
A: Resprouting after pruning only occurs within 6 inches to 12 inches below the cut. In other words, you can’t prune a couple of feet out of the top of your yaupon hollies and expect any growth much lower down the trunk.
Your only choice is to do a severe pruning in February, cutting the trunks at about the height of the lower shrubbery, and allow sprouts to grow a few feet from that height so that the hollies are not so tall and messy.