maybe they were dead when you got them ... if you have a guarantee.. exercise it immediately ... if they give you any problem .... suggest to them that even a complete novice can not kill 48 out of 48 ... inside of 3 weeks .... if it were your fault .... and presuming you aren't leaving out any pertinent facts .... like you sprayed them all with lawn weed killer .... there is just no way you could have been so good at the kill .... which leads one to the suggestion that they may have been dead when you got them ... being evergreen ... they could have died long ago ... ken

you don't know severe winter in zone 7 GA .... in the last two weeks up here in MI ... its been single digits with wind chills from -5 to -25 below ... now that is severe ... lol i was out yesterday and i saw no damage on any of the 50 or so GG's i have ... which leads me to believe that the severity of winter is not your problem ... soooo .. what to do ... i suggest nothing until they start to grow this spring ...GG's go through some color change.. and without pix its hard to tell if that is the issue or whether you have other problems .... so lets just be patient for a bit ... but lets be realistic... when you buy one or two plants.. you can take care of them.. and baby them... and get them going.. but when you are working on a scale of 26 plants .. in all reality you shouldn't expect a 100% success rate ... you may lose one or two ... and don't worry about that.. you can replace them .. but these are pretty aggressive plants.. and even if you have some die back .. they will rebound strongly once they get going .... this year.. you are responsible for all water.. they should be watered PROPERLY .... which means a good soaking.. and then let them dry out before watering again ... this involves your finger in the soil ... there is no way for me to tell you more than that ... in my pure sand.. i might water every other week or so ... once per week in the hottest part of summer ... you should also insure that all grass and weeds are removed in a 2 foot circle to reduce competition ... and a good layer of mulch should be put around each ... if watering is problematic... a little moat around each before you put down the mulch will allow you to put a few gallons of water there which will then soak in over time .... now.. if you have that famous GA clay .. i just don't know what that will do to my recommendations.. and hopefully someone with clay experience will correct me if any of the above needs adjusting .... often .. with potted stock ... you should see how the hired help whips these things around... grabbing the top of the tree and just whipping the pots around.. being evergreen .. the damage isn't seen for a year or two ... i wouldn't be surprised if someone grabbed yours and threw it to the next guy who them put it on a pallet.. etc.. you get the picture.. a little brown is not really a big deal in the 50 year life span of your babes.. so try to relax about it .. if it were all 26 plants.. then i would suspect you messed up somehow.. but if its one or two.. or a few plants ... blame some one else.. lol ... let us know what happens in April or may ... just take the hand pruners and snip out the brown once you are sure it will not green back up ... and the plants will be fine.. good luck ken

have any of you HARDENED them off to full sun application .... IF THEY CAME FROM A GREENHOUSE/shadehouse ... perhaps they are burning up.. because you blasted them out to full blistering sun???? when i order conifers.. i always try to remember to ask upon order.. or call them back when i get them.. to ask if they came from a greenhouse ... the next question would be how your zone compare between yours and where they are shipped from ... if they are growing lushly in z8 .. and you plant them asap in z4 in very early spring ... again.. there might be hardening off issues .... but to temps this time .... just speculating ... the grafters in WA and OR... tend to leave them outdoors the second winter.. or what they call winter.. lol ... but GG's are a rooted plant ... and it wouldnt surprise me if they are in green or shade houses .... ken

i am sorry ... i have lost sight of one important fact ... THESE ARE 5 DOLLAR PLANTS ... just plant them ... jeez ... lol what i would worry about on a 5$ versus.. 50.. vs.. 100.. vs 500 dollar plants is different ... all but the first look pretty decent .... crush the media.. untangle the roots a bit.. and plant them .. at the proper height.. water properly.. and mulch properly ... the first.. i would spend some time trying to unravel the root mass ... perhaps even cutting a few of the worst tangled ones ... and insure a little more tlc ... one of the reasons they are $5 .. is that they are weeds.. and grow like weeds.. and are near bullet proof .. frankly.. on these plants.. you have a greater chance to mess up.. if you were to try to fool with pots for 3 months ... the bigger ones ... from the other post ....i dont know good luck ken PS: last pic.. #1.. shorten the second leader on the far left .... same on #6 .. if i am focusing properly .... right above teh white label on the pot ...