i would be surprised if one day of low water caused the damage ...

but without a pic.. its really hard to give any further comment

ken

I don't think you'd see browning that soon after drying out either. How did you transport it home? Any chance the tips were wind damaged?

I will take a pic. I think this particular holly may be notorious. When I called the nursery and described the symptoms, the saleswoman seemed to be very familiar with this problem. Sbe said I needed to water it every day like they did at the nursery.

Many container-grown nursery plants are so incredibly root-bound that they may need watering even twice a day. If you don't plan to plant it right away, at least keep the plant in full shade. Also, this time of year plants are putting out their new, soft growth. This growth is especially vulnerable to 'drought'. If lack of water was the issue, you should have noticed the new growth wilting before it turned brown.

the woman at the nursery KNEW the problem.. because all the stock is problematic ....

ken

Just sayin' it's a very common issue. I have purchased many a root-bound holly that needed watering at least once a day. It could have dried out at the nursery or after purchase.

The nursery woman KNEW the solution. Keep it watered.

Yes, this is your clue:

the saleswoman seemed to be very familiar with this problem. Sbe said I needed to water it every day like they did at the nursery.

Definitely water every day, keep the pot well shaded (in sun exacerbates the problem), and when planting dig an extra-nice hole and fill the hole with water before plant goes in. Good luck and think twice before purchasing live consumer goods from that nursery, or triple-check the stock and consume nothing in a pot that you can't squeeze.

Dan

I planted 5 of these in my garden in Philly. Last winter we saw monster snow. All 5 were completely buried for days. Three of them seem to have "died" on the top half. The bottoms are green and healthy, the tops are brown and leafless.

I'm planning to order replacements and move the injured plants to pots to nurse in a sheltered location. Should I give the damaged plants another year as is to see if they rebound, or is it better to trim off the apparently dead branch parts?

Note: the 3 that were injured were the ones that got most daily sun. I'm thinking the combo of long snow followed by sun exposure may have done the damage. The other 2 get a few hours less sun but got just as much snow as the others. Just a thought.