Hi guys,

Two weeks ago I planted a pair of fairly large Nanking Cherry shrubs from a trusted local nursery (that was closing up shop so they're not a resource for help).

I planted the shrubs in full sun in a mixture of my local soil (clay) with some sand, and 50% topsoil. I have been watering them daily (we're in a bit of a drought).

The first sign of trouble was some brown fringes on the leaves, but I changed my watering method to a longer soak and that appeared to stop the browning.

Today I noticed one of the shrubs had some yellow leaves (the other had a few as well upon closer inspection) and after a bit of research decided the plants may need some magnesium. So I watered them with a gallon of water that had 3tbsp of Epsom salt. Each plant received approximately half of this solution.

Now, some 10 hours later, the yellow leaves have multiplied ten-fold. The first plant has many many yellow leaves and the second plant had considerably more than it did earlier.

Any idea of what I screwed up? (Something to do with poor research or the Epsom salt I'm sure).

Any idea how to fix this?

I feel terrible that I'm killing these plants when my children are so excited for cherries.