image of the completely brown one

You're watering every day? What kind of soil do you have under that plastic? That looks like a impervious plastic.....is it? What is the moisture level of the soil under the plastic.

I'd be willing to bet money that the problem IS the watering (and the plastic).

You're watering every day? What kind of soil do you have under that plastic? That looks like a impervious plastic.....is it? What is the moisture level of the soil under the plastic.

I'd be willing to bet money that the problem IS the watering (and the plastic).

@rhizo_1
Yes, I water everyday. I'm not exactly sure about the soil, but I remember the contractor replaced the old soil with whatever they got from the nursery.
For the plastic, it's the weed blocker (Easy Gardener WeedBlock).
As for the moisture level, how do i measure it?

Thanks.

15 minutes a day with a drip system is nowhere near adequate watering for a newly planted shrub in summer. What is the GPH of your emitters? It would very likely be much more satisfactory to water less often (2-3X week?) but for a significantly longer period of time. You need the water to percolate down and saturate the soil evenly to depth of the rootball and all the way around.

The only way you can determine if the plants are getting adequate water is to physically test the root zone.

In addition to what has been said it is important to know what shrubs you have. 18 'shrubs' doesn't really tell us what we are discussing. Different plants need different conditions. The ones in your pictures appear to be Myrtus communis. Is that correct? And are they all the same?

@rhizo_1
Yes, I water everyday. I'm not exactly sure about the soil, but I remember the contractor replaced the old soil with whatever they got from the nursery.
For the plastic, it's the weed blocker (Easy Gardener WeedBlock).
As for the moisture level, how do i measure it?

Thanks.

@florauk
Yes, they are Myrtus communis (18 of them).

@gardengal48
The emitters are pointed directly to the root; the emitters' head are black, so I think they are 1 GPH.
I'll adjust the duration and the frequency of the timer; probably 1 hour per day, and then 1 hour every other day after 2 weeks. (will slightly adjust after I check the root)

Is there a way to determine if the completely brown ones are still savable?

Thanks for the help and quick response.

do NOT increase water.. until you dig a hole and find out if it is wet or dry ...

the black fabric is cooking your plants above ground...

and probably cooking the roots below with trapped and retained heat ...

i doubt if you will find any experienced gardener.. who favors any kind of landscape cloth ...

interior browning is normal.. there is no sunlight in there.. to maintain green leaves... its a function of how tight the outer canopy is ..

the all brown plant is dead ...

why did you not finish covering the black with the stone ...

no one can tell you about your soil.. you water.. when your plants .. needs water.. run irrigation.. dig hole.. find out what happened.. increase or decease amount of time run.. as necessary ...

ken

Get rid of that godawful weed barrier plastic and never use anything like it again! The lengths people go to to cut down on weeds -- to the point of making a terrible growing environmenbt for their gardens. Rip it up! Let your plants' roots breathe and take in moisture!!!!

Thanks for the help.

Here's what I'm going to do:
1. remove weed blocker
2. investigate each drip head and make sure they are functional (apparently the half brown one's dripper head is stuck)
3. dig out the dead ones, check the soil moisture level, and adjust the drip system timer accordingly
4. replace the dead ones

one question about the soil moisture level: what would be the appropriate level?
Say if I water in the morning at 7 AM, and check the soil at 7 PM, should the soil still be wet?