Were these dug up out of the ground? Otherwise the way to check for a possible watering issue is to poke around in the soil - including and especially the soil they came with - and do a visual inspection.

If you don't see any sings of bugs (eggs, larvae, sap), you have a watering issue. Unfortunately, yellow leaves mean either too much or not enough water. The only way to find out is to poke around the soil, like Embothrium said. This is something you have to figure out yourself, based on the kind of soil you have and how it feels to the touch. If you have clay -- they could be waterlogged. If you have sandy/gravely soil -- they could be thirsty.

If your soil is constantly wet, you eliminate air pockets around the roots so they can't "breathe." This will cause leaves to yellow and roots to rot.

You need to touch and feel things, and based on that you can figure out how much water your shrubs need. Plants need to dry out slightly between waterings, so don't drown them. Adjust your irrigation accordingly.

So i just planted them from 24 inch boxes. They are about 4 feet wide and around 6 feet tall.

How much water should I be providing them? (Gallons?)

I can adjust the irrigation accordingly. What would be the recommended spacing between watering? These are newly planted.

Nobody can give you this information remotely. The amount and frequency of watering depends on whether the plants need water or not. You have to get down on your knees and TOUCH the soil. You can go to a nursery/hardware store and get a moisture meter -- it's a probe you stick deep in the soil and it tells you whether the soil is wet, moist or dry. If it says "wet" -- you are overwatering. A cheap and very useful gadget to have.

HU, nobody will do the work for you. Just go outside and poke around. It's like asking a dentist to fix your teeth online.

Thank you floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK.

Looks like you are correct. It's quite difficult to overwater these right now and it wasnt enough water. Soil Meter was useless as well since it was coming out as moist, but still not enough water for these plants. Touching the soil was always wet and moist, but still not enough water.

You are correct that initial watering was important. One side we did not, the other we watered right away constantly everyday. I do see the difference.

I just doubled the watering and they look a bit more happier now.

In terms of weed prevention, what are your thoughts on landscaping fabric + mulch (redwood)? I ask because on some of the laurels, I do see multiple shoots coming out from the ground. I'm not too familiar with these hedges and I don't want to prevent new laurel shoots from coming out.

Just thick mulch. No fabric. Any mulch will do.

Update here after 6 months in the ground. Its getting hot here and dry. Around 80-90 F (approaching 100 days soon).

Environment

- San Jose Ca

- Clay Soil

- 80-90 F degrees

- Dry weather

- planted in ground for about 6 months now

Irrigation

- 2x week @ 40 mins each.

- 11 gph emitters. (see image below)

- All watered equally

Laurels in the Shade:

What I have noticed, the Laurels in the Shade are doing extremely well and having new growth. Its to a point where my privacy hedge is filled in. Its really beautiful!

Laurels in FULL Sun:

The ones in the sun however, are all losing leaves with major gaps. Since I have around 90% of the hedges in the sun, they are all losing leaves. Its really sad and I need help.

QUESTION:

In this scenario, I'm wondering, am I overwatering or underwatering? I have touched the soil as recommended and it is moist meaning I'm probably watering enough. Or do I need even more?

Thank you guys in advance. Previous comments were extremely helpful.

1st picture. Laurels in the shade. Doing extremely well. (ignore the 24 box. I have lots of them in the ground, around 30 and they are all like this).

2nd picture. Laurels in the shade. All the leaves are falling off. Majority of the laurels in the shade are like this. (ignore the 24 box. I have lots of them in the ground, around 30 and they are all like this).

Example of my current irrigation system.

How are these doing now? We planted 3 of these in tree form. We also live in San Jose same weather and soil conditions as you and all in full sun. Can' figure out too much or too little water. Meter says moist but due to clay soil it feels cool not wet or moist. How far down should we go to test, ours were in 24 in boxes as well.