Mine get looking like that at times from a heavy infestation of spider mites ... if that's the case, a few repeated blastings from the garden hose will be of help.

Thank you. I will blast with the garden hose. Do you think the tree will come back from the damage seen?

i would take a hand trowel or tablespoon.. and dig 3 to 6 inch holes in and around the gob planted.. AND FIND OUT ABOUT MOISTURE AT ROOT DEPTH ...

tree time is counted in decades ... sometimes it can take a long time for damage to appear .. and we fail to look far enough back in time.. to find the issue ...

watering trees can be hard on irrigation .. ensuring moisture is getting down into the root mass ..

then there is the issue of how you planted... your timing in july was not prime ... but the other trees made it .. so you must be rather close on perfecting it ... see section one link below ...

which leads us to pot problems on this one.. that the others didnt have .. did you do any root surgery ... or notice severely winding roots in the pot ...

i have planted dozens of these .. and never fertd them .. ever ... and my garden is sand ... it neither here nor there.. it has nothing to do with what is going on .. but to me.. its a waste of money ...

i dont know if it can recover ... only time will tell.. just check and perfect watering is about all you can do ..

and if you think spraying them down for the suggested bugs will make a difference.. it sure wont hurt anything ... though you might want to look up how to ID those things are on your plants [its not easy] ... but since you are using just water.. does it really matter.... its not like you are using poison on a whim ... and also consider.. one of the issues with a monoculture.. is that if one or 2 of them had bugs.. most likely they all would ...and that doesnt seem to be what we are seeing ....

you will probably know the end of the story in the high heat of august ... they will either make it thru that.. or they will brown out ...

and if they die.. and you want to replant.. do it in the next proper planting season which is fall or winter.. depending where you are ... see section one at link below ... you can buy the replacements anytime .... but hold them over in the pots until proper planting time... if you wait to buy in fall.. you might not find what you want ... but you might also contemplate the monoculture aspect.. and plant something else in between ... as in fall.. you could move a couple of these to make a more artistic setting .. if you get my drift ...

and.. they are thuja ... not cedar .. for future reference .... i know cedar is a common name.. but you may as well use the right name ...

good luck ...

ken

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

Mine have recovered from many spider mite attacks over the years, sometimes mother nature takes care of matters when we receive heavy rains and downpours. I'd avoid hosing them off in the hot afternoon sun, rather best in the evening or early morning hours. Spider mites cause a dulling and speckling of foliage and webbing can be seen at times and even the very tiny buggers themselves if one has very good vision or takes a magnifying glass out. Also, as Ken says, if your soil is good, these young trees of yours really do not require fertilizer.