Sorry, I'm not good at posting pics.

Here is one of the healthy ones:
{{gwi:263145}}

Here is the worst one:
{{gwi:263146}}

Are you SURE that your watering is getting through the mulch and through the weed fabric? The fabric, which so many people end up ripping up and removing, really and truly impedes the infiltration of water. You may want to check the soil with your fingers.

It's possible, too, that the clay layer is preventing water from draining properly and that the plants are all sitting in a bathtub.

Either scenario would cause the symptoms you're seeing.

they need to be DEEPLY watered.. throughout the entire depth of the pot they came out of.. and then allowed to NEARLY dry.. before they are deeply watered again ... as noted ... if you dug a cauldron in clay ... they may never NEARLY dry .. and would root rot ... real catch 22 there .... eh????

a little bit of surface water is useless ..

they looked extremely stressed from transplant.. along with severe sunburn due to lack of water ... or lack of viable roots pumping water ...

insert finger to second knuckle IN THE SOIL .. to determine if the soil is damp .. no guessing ..

ken

Thanks for both responses.

I know for a fact they don't go all the way down to the clay layer. Most of the holes that I dug were a couple inches too deep to start with and I didn't ever hit the clay.

On the advice of my mother-in-law who provided instruction while my wife and I worked, we cut holes out the landscape fabric, probably as wide as the plants themselves.

I did realize last night that in the process or putting the retaining wall up, the mulch has gotten piled up a little thicker at the base of the plants. I pulled it away a little bit.

I'll actually check the soil tonight for dampness. It woulds like from my readign that if they have root-rot, they're pretty much goners. But if the problem is lack of water, can they be saved?

How about digging one out and examining the root ball? While you are at it, water the hole and see how long it takes for it to drain.

That is pretty strange that the previous plants didn't make it and these are in trouble too. How about a soil test? Maybe the "good" soil is not so good.

ANd just because the clay is several inches underneath the plant, doesn't mean that you are in the clear. The water will still collect at the clay level. I suspect overwatering from the description, but the browning suggests underwatering. Overwatering often shows up as yellowing leaves.

If the plants are sitting in a bathtub of water, the roots will quickly die, giving the plant every appearance of being completely without water. Which, in fact, they are...considering that the feeder roots are gone. No root hairs, no water uptake.

Artificial layering of soil, even in a raised bed, can often cause problems like this.

I checked he soil last evening, it was damp at least 3 inches down right around the base of the plant. That was approximately 18 hours or so after the last time we watered them.

If I dig one of them up to inspect the root ball, what do I need to look for? If I fill the empty hole with water, how long should it take to drain out?

As far as the topsoil, I'm not sure about it. I'm starting to think is not very good quality. The subdivision we are in was old farmland. I have an old soil study at work that lists our area's soil type as "leaf silt loam" or "fine sandy loam". The builder brought in 4 or 5 loads of sand, then maybe 3 loads of this topsoil to build the lot up a bit. I do know the topsoil of full of weeds based on how my "lawn" looks right now. I wanted to do a soil test anyways to figure out what to do about the grass.

Here's a great reference for the hole drainage test. THey say it better than I could.

http://www.gardening.cornell.edu/factsheets/misc/soilbasics.html

ANd here's a great reference for watering new shrubs.

http://www.westonnurseries.com/Watering

If it isn't a drainage problem, I would be suspicious of something weird about the soil, but then again, everything would be dying if that was the case.

If it is poor drainage the rootball will have soggy dark roots. It will be smaller than what it was when you planted it.

I recommend a soil test to see the quality of the soil and the pH. Although topsoil was brought in, it sounds like the pH is off and therefor the plant cannot absorb some of the nutrients it needs.

'Soft Touch' hollies are a bit temperamental and take a while to get established. That looks like what commonly happens when they are overly rootbound in the pot, then planted, then not adequately watered. The root ball must be roughened up before planting. This helps the new roots to grow out into the surrounding soil.

Also, overwatering can cause this, so you really have to poke your finger down into the rootball to see what the situation is for a while after planting.

You don't say where you are and what your weather is like.