Question: This holly tree is at the entrance to a home we have just bought. Why would some of its branches be dying? M.O., Southlake.

Answer: It’s difficult to tell, but I would definitely rule out insects and diseases as possible causes. It looks much more like a tree that has gotten marginally too dry over the past summer. Sometimes, if one side of a plant gets too dry due to irrigation issues, branches on that same side will suffer. I just can’t see anything else.