Pruning Nellie Stevens Holly

[Layna]

Hi,

In the Northeast we had such a mild winter that most evergreens did not go dormant and then we had single digit weather. My Nellie Stevens leaves all turned brown. I took them off and now want to prune way back because the tree is alive! Any advice on this action?

[levilyla]

Same thing happened with my Foster Holly...just prune back to where you want it and it will come back. "They" say that hollies should be pruned in late winter but I have pruned them anytime and they come back nicely. I think the only time you don't want to prune would be late summer.