Possibly too much moisture. Oakleafs will not tolerate excessive moisture in the root zone. Withhold water, remove the mulch, wait for a few days and check for soil moisture around the plant. If still damp, there is a drainage problem, that must be corrected, for the plant to survive. Water only when the top 2-3 inches of soil becomes dry. ½ gal. of water = approximately 1" per ft² All of my Oakleafs, including 'Little Honey' are grown in either, well drained sandy loam, on a slope (when there is heavy (clay) soil), raised beds (at least 8" above surrounding area) or in pots, with well draining ground bark, perlite and compost mix.

I have one that I bought 2 years ago and it's barely holding on. I'll be watching this thread for tips!

ainhoa, you should search and read discussions on this board about LH and then decide for yourself if you want to let "process of falling in love" to go any further. Just one man opinion who is probably in the whole zone warmer climate than you are: this plant is worth all the troubles. IMO it's not a plant you grow for the blooms (which are nice, but nothing special in comparison to regular oakleaves), but rather plant you grow for its fantastic (triple exclamation!!!) foliage from the mid-spring to the late fall. Here is my side of the story: bought the first one in fall of 2005 as a 6" plant in a 1G pot. I planted it and it didn't make it thru the winter. Second one (the same 6" stick in 1G) was bought in a fall of 2006. This time I immediately replanted it from original 1G pot into 3G and overwintered in coldframe(garage). It went into ground early spring of 2007. It didn't produced too much effect during that season, but by the fall nevertheless become a respectable 18x18" shrublet. It spent most of the winter 2007/8 being covered by upsidedown large 15G nursery pot and overwintered perfectly, though it was a relatively warm winter. By the end of the 2008 season it was in 30x30+" range. I wasn't able to find a large enough pot to cover plant of such size and 'as is' it went into the winter of 2008/9/ which as you know was one of the harshes winters in a long time. Low and behold, it's over 4' in all dimensions right now and as of today opened its first two flowers :-))) But there is more to the story. Being encouraged by success with #2, in a fall of 2008 I bought #3 and overwintered it the same way as #2. It woke up in spring as a very healthy plant, was planted in identical conditions as #2, started good, but...in June it began showing different signs of decline and I dug it out and planted back in fresh potting medium in a 3G pot where she currently resides. It's in recovery and I'd say it is not anymore in a danger of death, but right now it's a sorrow looking plant nevertheless. My own experience somewhat confirms the words I've heard from the propagators and growers here in Northeast, ' This plant is never going to be in a mainstream here in NE due to unease of propagation and high mortality rate in a young age'. Still, if you are not affraid of the challenges...and lucky...go for it. P.S. I have knowledge of one plant in 5b (NE CT) which is about 5' after 6 years.

I'd have to assume that it just was not well enough established to survive our strange winter weather. Mine is in a container in a pretty shady location and came through without damage. Held on to its rosy pink fall foliage throughout the winter and in fact there are still a few old leaves hanging off the brilliantly chartreuse new growth. Mine has been a container plant its entire life....had it for about 4 years now. Even though it is a Briggs introduction, the likelihood it was grown by Briggs may be slim. They oversold their entire stock of this plant, both finished containers and plugs, and have not had it available for a couple of seasons. My sales rep assures me there will be some available later this season :-) A great little plant, certainly worth trying again.