Sunburn and or a lack of immediate working good balanced soluble fertilizer... The organics in a pot can burn your roots, smother them and cause yellowing leaves because the nutrients in them are not taken up by the plant as it should as in the ground, and even in there it can take quite a while with the right conditions... It needs a good fertilizer readily available as soon as possible if it's not sunburn I see... Did you just stick it in full sun? Did you acclimate it? Mike

Wow - you dug up a seriously old post! So I did end up planting a very long screen -- basically the entire length of the property line -- and I'm actually really happy with how it turned out. We used Thuja Green Giant arborvitae in the center where the tallest part of the house we are trying to block out is -- we planted them a decent distance apart, not all jammed up like I see people do for a property line screen. They have grown fast, widened out, and are basically almost up to the roof of the house we are trying to hide. I think they should cap out right about 35 feet or so, which won't block the view. We planted a few during our initial planting then filled in with a few more a couple years later -- those later plantings are a bit stunted - not sure if it's because we squeezed them into less space or they were just inferior to begin with (originals came from a nursery and were planted by a landscaper, later ones from Home Depot and we DIYed them). But they are all growing well and healthy, and seem impervious to deer, wind, cold, snow, etc. To the sides of the arborvitate, we used Nellie Stevens hollies. They too have grown fast. They don't much care for the wind -- they ended up looking pretty bad by the end of the last two winters (which were brutally cold and windy) but they filled in with new leaves in the spring. The deer don't seem to eat them either. And again, I think they cap out at 20 feet or so. To the sides of that (which is getting away from blocking the house and now just screening their yard from ours) we used forsythias planted very close together that we let grow wild into a thick hedge -- mainly because I love forsythia. It's not evergreeen but the hedge is so thick and branches are so close together that it does a decent job of screening even in winter. And in spring when it is in bloom, it is an absolutely stunning wall of yellow. Again the deer don't bother them and they seem to grow well without much care. And finally at the very end of the property lines, we used sea green junipers -- again, we were looking for something evergreen but it didn't need to be tall - we were only trying to hide the neighbor's "junk pile" which was unfortunately located so that it was the first thing you saw when you pulled into our driveway. Those are the plants that look the sickliest -- there's always big brown patches in them and the snow breaks the branches. But they are farthest from the house and from far away they look ok, so I don't mind them. I think if I had to do it over again, I'd have used all forsythia instead of also using juniper -- the forsythia are just so amazingly gorgeous when they are in bloom. I would take a picture for you but we are in the middle of a storm right now -- if I remember, I will get one tomorrow. Here's a link to a pic of what it looked like when we first planted itin 2009: Newly planted And here's a shot from the summer of 2012 (sorry for lousy pic -- best I could find): Three years old I would say that this year it really started to look good since the green giants are basically touching now.

Honestly, I think the tax/insurance issues in FL is killing the market here. Hoping the state government will do something about the taxes but I guess we'll find out more next month in the special session. As far as insurance, so far, nothing's happened as promised. Buyers aren't willing to put themselves out there with all this uncertainty. I am in the same position - listed 3 weeks ago. Nineteen others in my neighborhood (maybe 220 homes total) that are currently for sale, some being FSBO's. In this time period we've had 1 showing and apparently the buyers looked at everything in my neighborhood but are about 6 months out from buying. We discussed open houses but decided against it. Our agent's other marketing incl flyers at sign, postcards, newspaper (she says doesn't work though), some local magazine with homes for sale, their office marqui, and the internet but do not subscribe to the enhanced listing service for Realtor.com. Found this part out after we listed. We also offered a 7% commission (3.5% to each agent) thinking this might get more showings. So far don't believe this has helped. Not to mention in our price range $600k plus, there are even less buyers. We've decluttered the house except the garage has yet to be done (storing items for new house there), removed most of the family photos, paint touchup, repainted front door, remulched & planted flowers. Not really sure what else we can do. I think it will just be a matter of timing - right buyer at the right place & right time. Hopefully soon! I wish you all the best!

Thank you everyone! I will take it out tonight , I'm thinking proportionally less potting mix this time. Do I need to leave the roots out for a few days before repotting? I admit I've put them straight into a fresh mix previously. And then hold off watering for 1-2 weeks? Would you still recommend removing the black leaves if I add that they feel firm and healthy (despite their unhealthy appearance!)? I've just noticed that the poorly coloured squishy ones (most of the leaves on the plant) also look more swollen than the bright green/red ones... definitely over watering / lack of soil drainage.