Mahonia japonica leaves going brown

Juliesgoldsmith

I have 2 of these planted in feb this year & about 4-5ft. They have both started to look very unhealthy with the leaves turning brown & dry. I have been watering them for the past couple of weeks when I 1st noticed this & we haven’t had much rain recently. Should I prune them back & hope they come back. Should I be watering them every day ?? Any tips much appreciated 

Posy

A couple of questions: it's unusual to buy potted shrubs that large, so how did you get them, were they in containers or have you dug them up from somewhere? What sort of soil do you have, light/heavy/ acidic/ alkaline? Is the position full sun, some shade, mostly shade? Is it a particularly windy site? All these things will influence the well-being of your plants.

Fairygirl

I think they would have benefited from being pruned after planting, or before planting. Big plants don't establish easily.
Watering is necessary with anything planted, unless there's very persistent, consistent rain, and even then - you need to check with anything evergreen, that the rain is actually getting beyond the foliage and into the roots. 
The ground looks bone dry - and @Posy says - there are lots of factors which will affect their health. They'd need a large canful of water, at least, every other day, and they would probably have been needing that for the last month - depending on where you are, and your soil/climate etc.

Juliesgoldsmith

Posy said:

A couple of questions: it's unusual to buy potted shrubs that large, so how did you get them, were they in containers or have you dug them up from somewhere? What sort of soil do you have, light/heavy/ acidic/ alkaline? Is the position full sun, some shade, mostly shade? Is it a particularly windy site? All these things will influence the well-being of your plants.

Thanks for reply. They were bought from a trade nursery & put into newly made beds with a good compost /soil. They were put in early Feb so there was constant rain for most of the month. Quite a sunny position not much wind. I noticed 2 weeks ago how brown they’d got so have been watering them ever since. Do you think I can cut them back now & they should improve? 

Posy

I think it would be a good idea to cut back to reduce the effort they have to make. I thought, when I saw your pictures,  that the leaves looked 'burned'. That is, too much direct sun or water splashed on the leaves in sunlight. It can even be caused by frost or wind. Mahonia like shady positions, in my experience,  but they are pretty tough. The best thing will probably be to cut back, water well and keep your fingers crossed.