I'm afraid you might have to buy new ones. Any new plant, shrub or tree needs to be *well* watered for quite awhile after you plant it. If they're mostly brown, then they're probably dying.

If you bought them at Home Depot, or a similar big box store, and still have the receipt you might be able to get a credit or a refund. DON'T buy new ones now! They'll probably be in poor shape and aren't likely to come through the winter well. Wait until next spring.

Also, how did you plant them? The best way to plant them would have been to have popped them out of their pots, shaken as much of the soil out of the rootball as possible, and muss up the roots a bit (it stimulates new root growth if you do that). Any big crooked roots should have been trimmed off. You should then plant the shrub into a hole at the same depth that it was at in the pot, and backfill the planting hole with the same stuff you dug out (no added compost, fertilizer or anything). You can mulch with compost if you like, but it isn't absolutely necessary.

If you did all that then the likely culprits would be a lack of regular waterings, or plants in poor health to begin with.

BP

Same here. I bought 4 plants this year at HD and only 1 went bad. I plated it in May and not up until September it Slowly started turning brown and now it completely dead. I check to the soil and it seemed moist, Maybe too moist?

Anyhow, I'm taking it out this year and returning it to HD for a refund.

"The best way to plant them would have been to have popped them out of their pots, shaken as much of the soil out of the rootball as possible, and muss up the roots a bit (it stimulates new root growth if you do that)."color>

That's a good suggestion.

It may even be necessary to soak the root ball in water to get it to loosen up a bit.

With larger plants, the problem that causes them to eventually die may be that the roots were massacred, to get them to fit into a burlap bag or pot.
Nothing can be done to save those....

They are dead. Newly planted trees must be watered daily and never allowed to go dry. On the opposite - too much water will kill it too. I had that experience this summer. the trees were planted close to a fence and near a waterspout. The soil is heavy clay. We've had several heavy rainshowers this summer and I didn't realize until too late that the water didn't drain away for HOURS... so the tree closest to the fence with no drainage died. The tree further away from the fence and planted is soil that drains well, survived.

Always water your plants before transplanting. Any large potted plants do not have as much access to water as those that have been planted in the ground. Water well several hours before making the transplant.

Make sure the ground is broken up with compost to allow for drainage. Also, a tip -- make the hole large enough. Second create a small hill at the bottom of the pit and plant the tree on that hill, spreading some of the roots about. Back fill with more soil/compost mix. I like to add composted manure as well to help, plus bone meal. Secure your tree with 2 stakes at either side and heavy wires or twine - but give it enough slack so it can move slightly about. This strengthens the roots of the tree.

Same happened here I discovered that the root ball was so compacted, you could take an ax to it and it wouldn't loosen up.

It literally took just one pull and the entire tree came out intact, as if the roots were trapped within the heavy soil. Not to mention our soil is with heavy clay and looked WAY too moist for some reason, considering it's not a moist area, it gets lots of sun and there are no water drains near it.

I left the hole there and already added some mulch and soil with Bone-mix just to get some nutrients back into that spot, because i will try my luck again next year. This time, i will water the tree while in the pot and loosen the soil to get some roots going.

I took my dead Cedar back to HD and got a store credit.

could you post a picture pleaseÉ