you have to get up close and personal.. and find out what the buds at the end of each branch look like .. if you can get some pix of such.. we might help with that ...

if they are fine.. you are all set ... they SHOULD bud out properly ...

expect to lose all brown leaves... it happens on my evergreen shrubs.. every now and then ..

they are NOT HUNGRY ... they are incredibly stressed ... we.. meaning ME.. do not fert stressed plants ...

ken

Yeah, like Ken said, any branch tips that are dry and crispy are done for. Hopefully your plant will leaf out from below. I know it doesn't look great, but I would hold off trimming until after the new growth commences...maybe in May. Then you'll know for sure what's alive and what's dead. Likely you can keep at least the bottom third of the plant.

Skip laurels are borderline in zone 6 so, remember to plant any marginally-hardy broad-leaved evergreens in SPRING, not Fall. They'll have a better root system to survive the rigors of a harsh winter -- which we just had, as you can see.

Once they get established, in a few years, they should become a bit hardier...that is if we don't have 3 brutal winters in a row.

Ok, thanks for the info. Any of these pics give you a better idea?

wouldnt know a L bud if on bit me .. lol ... but it looks ok????

no pruning off dead branch tips.. until about june.. after the plant fully leafs out.. and you know what parts are really dead ...

is this bigboxstore stock???? .. bargain or warranty????

being overanxious ... and having some need to clean it all up now ... is not approved ... lets see what the plant does first ...

ken