stress .. or if you prefer.. shock ...

what else could have happened in a week???

do you think you were sold diseased or bug infested stock??

i hope its not as close to the house as it looks ...

i dont think i would reply on drip irrigation to water a large transplant properly ...

where are you.. big city name.. so we might understand current weather ...

explain your planting process ...

look to proper watering at the link below

ken

https://sites.google.com/site/tnarboretum/Home/planting-a-tree-or-shrub

Thanks for the response. They're about 3-4 feet from the house. I was planning on keeping them at approximately 5 feet high.

I'm right outside of Philadelphia.

As for planting, I used a premium mix from a local nursery which was screened topsoil mixed with leaf compost. Dug the hole about a foot wider than the rootball.

I guess my biggest concern is that I had to wait a week after bringing it home from the nursery before getting it into the ground. I tried to keep it watered in the meantime.

As for watering, I'm supplementing with watering it from the hose but it's in a bed with other plants that are using the drip system.

Thanks again for the help

Are you saying you dug up a hole and filled it with the nursery mix? I hope not!

If you did, you basically planted your shrub in an in-ground container, especially if your native soil is clay. Every time you water, that "container" fills with water which drains very slowly and deprives roots of oxygen (aka "bathtub effect"). Your shrub looks overwatered -- it's drowning in the tub.

You need to replant it using your native soil. There shouldn't be much difference between the soil in the hole and outside the hole. I agree with Ken that it's planted too close to the house -- it will create problems for you once it reaches its mature size. They can get 10 ft tall and wide. You will never stop pruning.

Thanks for the feedback. I should have clarified that when I refilled the hole, I mixed the premium mix with native soil.

As for the location, I'll move them out. Bit concerned about digging it up again since they're already a little stressed.

Thanks

"I should have clarified that when I refilled the hole, I mixed the premium mix with native soil."

Will still create the same sort of 'bathtub' issue with the more water absorbent enriched soil hanging on to the soil moisture at the same time the clay is draining very slowly With any kind of clay soils, it is important to plant high and use any amendments as a topdressing only. Never add to planting holes.

So would you recommend digging them up and removing the newly added soil? I can take soil from around it to fill the hole. Not sure if that would cause even more stress though...

Should have checked in before planting.

I appreciate all of the help and the explanation regarding amending the soil. It sounds like my best approach will be to dig a little bit to find out if the root ball is dried out. If it is, I'll increase watering and if it's moist, I'll cover with some mulch and just keep a close eye on them.

I really do appreciate all of the responses though. I don't plant shrubs often so it's definitely been a learning process.

Well, keep in mind that this is the time of year for many broad-leaf evergreens, such as Cherry laurel, to lose some of their leaves. And a plant getting established will lose more than the average plant. So there's that. Schip laurels, if that's what you have, are thirsty plants. It will need deep watering this year as it's getting established. Especially in hot summer time, depending on where you live.

Example shown is losing leaves at branch ends which is not normal seasonal leaf drop. Or even dropping more leaves than usual due to root damage associated with transplanting - the leaves at the tips should always be the last to go.