I've done some more homework on the Big Sky echs. Went to a local plant farm near here that I go to about every other year. They have the healthiest, best plants I have ever seen. The reason I only go every other year is because it is over an hour away and they have so many thousands of perennials that I pack my car to the hilt and can't afford to eat for a week! LOL! This farm is retail and wholesale. When I worked as a perennial buyer for an independent retailer, we bought 95% of our perennials from them because of the variety they carried and the quality of the stock. They grow all of their own. So, first thing, I head for the echinaceas. Thousands of them in both quarts and gallons. At least 5 blooms on the quarts and a dozen on the gallons. And tons of Big Skys - Sunrise, Sundown, Twilight and Harvest Moon. I was determined to look at every bloom. In fact, the back of my neck is burnt to a crisp from spending close to two hours looking down at every single bloom! Not a single petal out of place. No quills either. And colors looking exactly like the tags. Even the older blooms were very bright. Harvest Moon had blooms as big as my fist. So I asked an employee, what gives? Why are there so many complaints and why do yours look so good? He had never heard of a problem and has never had a problem. He said it has to be the stock. He directed me to the perennial bed, where there are Big Skys that have been in the ground fo two years and they were just gorgeous. And he said he has a whole garden of them at home and not a single problem. He said the only Big Sky that he has heard of problems with in Sunrise, which he doesn't carry. And of course the old Meadowbrite series. And he quit carrying Razzmatazz because it is very hard to grow in our area. So I'm thinking it has to be the original stock that is the problem? He said there are only 4 or 5 distributers of the original stock and that could be why the problems are nationwide. He did ask me to send pictures because he was very interested in the problem. I might add that I have never bought an ech from him except for Fragrant Angel which is still going strong after 4 years. So I have to confess, I bought one Harvest Moon, just to see how it performs compared to the ones I have with no petals. I also bought some other echs that are not Big Sky series. his stock was so gorgeous. He had After Midnight, Coconut Lime, Fragrant Angel, Green Eyes, Kim's Knee High, Kim's Mophead, Merlot, Pink Double Delight, Prairie Splendor, Purity, ruby Star, Ruby Giant, The King, Virgin, Pixie Meadowbrite, White Swan and Tiki Torch. Not a single bad bloom on any of them. Believe me, I checked each and every one. And I had to take a few more Tiki Torch and Double Delight! I love them! Does anyone have The King? It was not blooming yet so I didn't take the chance. I do believe this grower when he says he doesn't have any problems. He is well known for pulling plants that don't perform. He no longer sells several of the coreopsis because they didn't winter over here. And some signs and catalog descriptions say that even thought the plant is a perennial it does not perform that way here. I will let you all know how my new Harvest Moon does. If it keeps up the way it looks now, I will be over there buying truckloads full!

So I'm back to report that I did end up getting 3 of these echinacea as well as a bare root "Irresistible". The Irresistible had just broken dormancy (a very small sprout) and when planted the sprout died almost immediately and no new sprouts have shown since. It's been 5-6 weeks and I'm wondering if it's ever going to show. There's been no shortage of moisture but we're just now getting some warm weather. Could it be that it's just been waiting for some sun? The Big Sky plants had been potted and came wrapped but they didn't do very well in transit and the foliage died back on those as well after planting. One looks like it's struggling to survive while the others have done nothing. Meanwhile the "Milkshakes" which came fully potted, are doing very well. These glamour varieties, while beautiful, are too pricey for experimenting so if the survival rate is low I will think twice before purchasing again.

Thanks for the comments. This dieback didn't occur during winter, it occurred during last summer after the gardener planted them. During the winter, I did get a little bit of winter leaf burn, but I trimmed off the leaves, and that damage was a lot less. OK, I will try pruning the dead stems down a little further. I have no other space to put them, actually, not sure what I would do with them if I took them out. If I put the 2 damaged ones right next to eachother I could perhaps get 1 full looking holly but that probably isn't good for the plants. That is a downspout nearby, yes. It empties into the pond, so fortunately doesn't flood the sky pencils. As for the A/C unit, it's been a while since we had it on but I think the hot air coming out of the unit mostly goes upward. That is a good point, though I didn't think about air coming out of the compressor potentially affecting these shrubs. I will evaluate this summer. (Last year my worries were all about the shrubs shortening the life of our A/C unit.... my thoughts were the other way around). Sounds like I need to be patient and there may be some hope for these hollies.... may be it will bother me less once I figure out what to plant in front of them

I would simply take cuttings and write off the mother plant. I honestly don't see it surviving as is. Remove the flower spikes and de-bud each spike. The buds can be discarded, but save the spikes. Remove the mother plant from the pot and remove all the discolored leaves. Pull off a couple healthy looking leaves like those two at 7 &8 o'clock in your 2nd photo. Cut the stem off with a clean, sharp knife or razor blade below the top four or five healthy looking leaves. If the inside of the stem is brown or if the stem feels squishy, then it's pretty much a goner. In which case remove all healthy leaves. Allow pulled leaves, the spikes, and the cutoff top section of the plant -- assuming the stem of that section was healthy -- to callous over in a warm, dry, well lit place (no direct sun) for about a week. The pieces can be laid on top of your media. If no disease has infected them, at least a few should send out roots and new growth eventually.