Thank you everyone for your feedback... I have kept the plant isolated and will continue to do so throughout the winter. I am not sure if the tiny, almost see-through little spiders were just spiders or spider mites, but the vinegar/water mist and then alcohol/water mist seemed to get rid of those (for now anyway). saltcedar: I did slightly burn a couple of new-growth leaves using either the 50/50 vinegar or 50/50 alcohol mist. But, fortunately it was nothing major. rhizo: I am not sure if it is/was lacebugs. I have not seen anything that looks like Google pics of lacebugs; but I have now begun to realize that it is not very easy to always SEE what's living on plants! :-( ... In any case, I will continue alcohol/water or vinegar/water mistings once a week; followed by consistent syringing; and I will see how the plant is looking in a couple of months! Thank you again, everyone! This forum has proven to be quite helpful!

Lisa- Willows are messy plants that will drop a lot of small branches, leaves, and catkins to clog your pool filter. So never a good choice near a pool. And I doubt that they would survive the first winter in a container in zone 5a. (See below) I don’t know of any bamboo that will survive in a container in zone 5a. There are a few types of bamboo that will survive in the ground, but not many. A container is exposed to air temperatures on all but the bottom, rather than being surrounded by a huge mass of soil from the ground around it like with in-ground plants. Because of this, the container soil will freeze solid in cold weather and will have many cycles of freeze-thaw over the course of the winter. Based on my experience as well as what I read, few plants can survive this. The ground, because only the top surface is exposed to air temperatures, may freeze a few inches down, but doesn’t freeze below that unless it is in an area that is without plants, mulch, or snowcover, and even then there won’t be the kind of temperature extremes and swings that happen in even the largest containers because it takes a long time for in-gound soil temperatures to change due to the enormous mass. Year-round container growing works for warmer areas, but not zone 5. I have found one plant only of many tried that will grow and survive in a container, ribbon grass, something that is too much of a thug to let loose in a garden. However, it isn’t tall enough to votive you much privacy, perhaps 2’ tall. So plant large, quick-growing annual vines on trellises in your pots, something like some of the larger cultivars of mandevilla vine or Black-eyed Susan vine (Thunbergia) or scarlet runner beans. Add some groundcover or draping plants like wave petunias or golden creeping Jenny and you will have a colorful set of pots for your pool that will offer privacy. Be sure to read up on container soils and have some type of irrigation system to keep them looking good. Or consider freestanding screens that can be moved into place to provide privacy.

The tip that it's drought (aka, a water shortage ) is the pattern of brown which progressed from the tip backward into the leaf. The damage you see is from last year. As for the fact that others are doing okay, many things can affect how much water gets into the top of the plant, among them these: - the root system of the individual plant (even though they're all the same kind, they *are* individuals) - newly planted/transplanted woodies need supplemental irrigation for at least two years. (Yours ran short of water last year) - differences in root systems (part of the "they are individuals" kind of thing) - exposure: perhaps the damaged ones are in more light, or a windier, or more exposed, site - perhaps the damaged ones receive more reflected light, as from a driveway or sidewalk - differences in soil between the two planting area. - if given supplemental water during the growing season, the amount received, also the method applied

These particular plants are a dwarf form of English laurel. 'Otto Luyken' is very common. Chlorosis is common with these plants, often from poor drainage causing root rot, or sometimes iron deficiency from improper soil pH. They like a slightly acid pH, which is the general pH of soil around here, but who knows what it is in a raised bed like you've got them in. The soil is probably hauled in for one thing, and masonry can change the soil pH. Soil can vary tremendously from one spot to another just a foot away. These are not the exact same bush, you have a number of individuals of the same kind; and they are not all in the same soil, each one is in its own spot, which can have very different soil conditions. They look like they've been in for a long time, not recently planted. So they could be rootbound, but it could also be something like winter damage, or root rot from January's flooding, or a particularly good year for root weevils chewing on the roots could cause the yellowing too. See how wet the soil is where the roots are, and what the pH is. The soil should be starting to dry out by now. You do not want it to be wet all the time. If the soil is moist but not wet, and doesn't smell of rotting eggs, then try giving them some liquid fertilizer with chelated micronutrients. A shot of Miracid would be just the thing. See if that greens them up. If so then you know it's a nutrient deficiency. You shouldn't need to feed them very often though, maybe once a year. That planter you have them in does look rather crowded. There's as much root below ground as branches above. And you're watering them already?? seems early to me, you could be keeping them too wet. I haven't watered anything in my garden yet, just the smaller pots. Zone 5 is not incorrect for Tacoma, just it's zone 5 in Sunset Magazine's system. Zone 8 for Tacoma is the USDA system. Either one is correct, just you should specify which one you're using! 'cause zone 5 WA in USDA is Spokane.