"...how fast they grow..." As with any other plant, conditions greatly influence how fast a plant will grow. Here in TN, and with good soil and plenty of water, mine grew at almost 10" per year until it got around 8'. It seems to have slowed down a lot after that. "...what (if anything) I can do to make them grow faster (lots of water, fertilizer?)" Providing sufficient water and fertilizer, if these are missing, would encourage better potential growth. However, too much of a good thing is often bad and can lead to unhealthy plants. A lanky sky pencil holly might just flop over and turn into a splayed out weeping holly. "...I need to know how much water they need as I will have to provide it." The amount of water they need will depend on the circumstances. You need to test your soil down at root level to find out how your soil drains. Your hollies will appreciate always having a little moisture down at root level, but the soil's surface should be allowed to begin drying in between waterings. Longer (deeper), less frequent watering is much better than shorter (quick), frequent watering. There's a popular description that applies to many plants..."likes light, well-drained, moist soil" (basically these plants appreciate ideal conditions, even though they don't require these conditions to survive). "...should I just scope out my local nurseries when they open?" For these, I'd definitely try to source locally. It would save you a bundle in shipping and allow you to hand select the best plants. These are very common around here and can be found at many of the big-box type stores. "...I am trying to decide if I should splurge and buy bigger plants, or save some money and buy small if they are going to grow fairly fast." ...or you could go somewhere in the middle and settle for a little instant gratification tempered with a little cost savings, ease of planting, and less transplant shock. Really big stock will probably not grow much for quite a while and is much more likely to suffer from transplant shock and/or a poorly formed root system. Smaller plants can hit the ground running (or suffer less transplant shock), but will also be little for a while. You really have to figure out what's more important to you. And, if you decide on larger stock, be prepared for a lot more work to start with (including possibly addressing major root system problems during planting).

I've witnessed this particular variety -- as in at least 4 trees -- growing in a grocery store parking lot area. Then I took cuttings and am growing my own trees. Pretty much all the leaves are the same whether in sun, shade, fast growth; slow growth, although the number of spines varies a bit. But none of the leaves are as round as other known East Palatkas I've seen in the area. East Palatka leaves seem to be more obovate to elliptical - at least from multiple images I've seen as well as actual trees. That is why I suspect it's not an East Palatka. But I'm open to any speculation. Also, East Palatka is propagated by cuttings, so it is a genetic clone. There wouldn't be THAT much variation in a clone. Seedlings, for sure, where the gene pool gets mixed and expressed differently. Also, the original trees look like they may have been planted quite a while ago -- maybe over 20 years. There is NOTHING like them elsewhere in the area that I have seen. Honestly there are so many holly hybrids that have been 'discontinued', forgotten or 'pushed out of the market' and are now virtually unknown in current markets. For example, I've never witnessed a 'Hume #2' but the written description sounds very similar to what I have. Fosters #2 and Nellie Stevens have so dominated the market that not much else has a chance. Housing developers don't want to experiment with things that might fail or aren't 'bullet proof' for their area. Nor do nurseries.

Debbie, After I dig the hole for the tree, I use a knife and cut the roots on the side of the root ball so the roots will integrate into the soil. Then I put the tree in the hole and back fill it with native soil, the soil you dug out in the first place. Then I water it real good, every other day the first week after planting. If it doesnt'look like it's dying, then I am going to guess that you didn't cut the roots of the ball on the side. You didn't put anything back in the hole but the regular soil, right? Did you put alot of cow manure in the hole? They will probably be alright, just wait til spring and if they don't grow any, dig them up and cut the roots on the ball. Oh, and don't forget to mulch them. Mulch at least 2 inches, nad not too close to the trunk.

Thanks for the comments. This dieback didn't occur during winter, it occurred during last summer after the gardener planted them. During the winter, I did get a little bit of winter leaf burn, but I trimmed off the leaves, and that damage was a lot less. OK, I will try pruning the dead stems down a little further. I have no other space to put them, actually, not sure what I would do with them if I took them out. If I put the 2 damaged ones right next to eachother I could perhaps get 1 full looking holly but that probably isn't good for the plants. That is a downspout nearby, yes. It empties into the pond, so fortunately doesn't flood the sky pencils. As for the A/C unit, it's been a while since we had it on but I think the hot air coming out of the unit mostly goes upward. That is a good point, though I didn't think about air coming out of the compressor potentially affecting these shrubs. I will evaluate this summer. (Last year my worries were all about the shrubs shortening the life of our A/C unit.... my thoughts were the other way around). Sounds like I need to be patient and there may be some hope for these hollies.... may be it will bother me less once I figure out what to plant in front of them