Holly bushes dying

[stephbrooke]

I live in Colorado, and I had a landscaper plant some holly bushes last year in a mulched area in front of my deck.* 2 of them died almost right away, primarily I believe because they didn't get enough shade.* 4 of them lasted well through the summer but 1 more died in the winter.* The remaining 3 are starting to become sparce and have some limbs that look*like they are dead.* They have brown leaves, and the*branches are a blackish/brown color with some white on it, almost gray looking.* The entire shrub is not like this, just parts of it.* What can I do to save them?* *

[Newt]

Hi Stephbrooke,

Are you certain these are hollies?* As far as I know they prefer full to part sun.* That would be about 6 hours or more of sun.* It sounds to me that these trees were diseased when they were planted.* Most landscapers, garden centers and nurseries offer a 1 year guarantee.* Take a look here to see if you can id what you see.
http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/A/ANR-1087/ANR-1087.pdf
http://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheets/HGIC2055.htm
http://www.umassgreeninfo.org/fact_s..._leaf_spot.pdf
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/cabarrus/sta...gworhlybi.html

Newt

[stephbrooke]

Thank you for your reply.* The bushes I have are Berrie-Magic Holly's.* The information I have on them say they prefer/adapt to part shade, and grow best in shadier conditions.* The one's that died had no shade whatsoever, but the landscaper assured me they would be fine.* I skimmed the article you posted, but I just can't tell.* I am pretty new to gardening, and really don't know much about bushes and diseases.* My first thougt was that they weren't getting enough moisture.* Again the information I have on them say they prefer moister conditions.* My sprinkler's don't soak them, so I bought a soaker hose.* I still had 1 die, and the remaining 3 aren't looking good.* Which is the problem, I'm apparently not solving on my own.* I really like them and want them to thrive and just don't know what I'm doing wrong.* I'm attaching pictures, hopefully they come through o.k.

Steph.

[stephbrooke]

1 more picture

[Newt]

Steph, it's beginning to look like a possible over watering or inconsistent watering problem.* These shrubs WILL tolerate full sun but do better in part shade.* Full sun should not cause their demise if they get proper watering, but can cause sunburn if they were previously grown in shadier conditions.* With sunburn, a shrub like this would usually show symptoms with brown crisp leaves and* by losing them.* Many areas of Colorado have drying winter winds and that could have also contributed to the problem over the winter.***

In looking at your pictures it's difficult to tell just what is going on, but it does look like a possible fungal problem, which suggests overwatering to me.* If you read 'Water Requirements' under 'Growth Conditions' at this link, you will note that it says to water when the top 3" of soil is dry.* Btw, the stems get a purple color when they mature.
http://www.monrovia.com/PlantInf.nsf/3e858bc84af1756c88256f0a00787e69/0330834f24fa23128825684d007187b3!OpenDocument

I would suggest you have the landscaper who installed them take a look at them with the idea of possible replacement.*

Newt