I wouldn't necessarily say they were dying.....but they are showing signs of stress. Given the oddities of this summer that many of us experienced, it could be a number of factors.

Where are you located (nearest large city)?

Were they containerized plants? How large?

How did you prepare the planting hole?

How is the drip irrigation scheduled? How often and for how long?

What atypical weather events have you experienced this summer? Extreme heat? Drought? Heavy and frequent rainfall?

what she said.. but take a hand trowel and dig 2 or 3 .....3 to 6 inch small holes around each plant.. AND FIND OUT IF WATER IS GETTING DOWN TO ROOT LEVEL ...

report back ...

yellow and browning of stressed foliage is not out of the ordinary ... especially if interior.. in fall and thru winter ... its just dropping some old leaves ...

exte4rior browning could have been damage from shipping.. planting.. hail.. etc ...

your plant is 98% green.. its not dying ...

generally.. trees like a deep drink of water... down thru the root mass.. and then near drying before the next DEEP watering ... and that is very hared to do with dr4ip irrigation.. and the only way to find out how long you have to run a tree drip line.. is to run it for 3 or 4 HOURS!!! .... and then dig those holes AND FIND OUT ... and that is how i learned about digging holes ...

too many peeps with drip.. think you water them like relatively shallow roots annuals and perennial... often and shallow .... and that doesnt always work out ... and it why trees should be on a dedicated line ...

move along peeps.. no drama here ... lol

ken

ps: and of course how long it take water to get to depth depends on your soil type ....

They were lurchased locally in one gallon containers roughly 15-18 inches tall. this summer was rough. very hot, dry but some very strong rains. traveling caused me to more less neglect these and not stay on top of them. with the soil being pure clay i dug a hole twice the width and planted with the top of the rootball level with the ground and back filled with top soil. when i brought attention to them and weeded them i used a moisture meter and they were very wet. i dug them up and the root ball was soggy. i duge the hole deeper and wider, placed a few inches of pea gravel with a layer of top soil then replabted with a mound of top soil a few inches above grade and trimmed most dark brown leaves and dead limbs. I sprinkled a little 10-10-10 as well. Prior to harsh summer they were growing great and were dark green. The drip system was on 15 minutes every 3 days. there are 5- .5 GPH emiterers around each tree. the irrigation was stopped a about a month ago as i noticed they may have been getting too much water.

Get a good, deep water meter and figure out if you are over or under watering. Then, water as needed, not more, not less.

NEVER, ever amend a planting hole in clay soil with a looser 'topsoil', planting mix or compost!! Because clay drains so slowly and the amendments hold and retain moisture, you will have created a bucket of gooey, wet, muddy stuff surrounded by clay. Any drainage will be very slow. Root rot is almost an inevitable outcome.

In fact, it best not to amend individual planting holes whatever your soil conditions are. Changing soil textures creates soil interface issues and impedes good drainage. What comes out of the planting hole is all that should go back in. If you want to use amendments, apply them as a topdressing or mulch only.

btw, soil moisture meters are rarely very accurate. I wouldn't waste money on one. You need to test soil moisture by feel at the depth of the rootball. And no fertilizer until after the trees are established or at least going into their second season.

Any tips of how to correct the issue after i ammended the soil? dig them back yo and plant them in just clay?

Yep. Dig them up and replant in your native soil.

"traveling caused me to more less neglect these and not stay on top of them"

Well, there you go- it's almost always lack of DEEP watering. DEEP to the bottom of the roots.

You have to find a way to make certain your watering is penetrating deeply enough and Ken's suggest to dig down is how you do it.