May be browning because short of water in the *original* rootball. Feel it to verify, or not.

Don't panic, this is normal.

Frank

no conifer holds its needles forever ... and they shed them.. oldest first .. and all the older ones are interior .... so .. interior browning is NORMAL ...

and it is complicated by the stresses of planting.. transplanted.. drought.. excessive heat.. etc ...

keep them properly watered.. and otherwise ignore them..

you will probably be seeing it all over town.. now that you noticed it on your plants ... especially on stressed pines ...

ken

So I should keep watering them? I shut down the water last week since I thought it was getting too much. I had a drip line on them.

you need to insure.. that there is moisture thru out the entire root mass that you planted ...

drip irrigation does not provide moisture to depth.. unless it remains on for many, many hours ...

i would take a hand trowel.. and dig slightly away from where you planted the root mass.. and dig down about 6 inches.. and find out if there is moisture at depth ...

and the soil should simply be damp.. not sodden ...

they need to remain moist for about 2 years.. to grow the roots to recover from the planting.. how that all works in your soil .. in your garden.. is a mystery to us ... you have to figure it out ...

do not let them freeze into an ice cube for winter.. so soil drainage.. and where you actually are in NY .. is important ..

i do a lot of drip irrigation.. but i have never used it on trees .... it OK to maintain soil moisture.. but might not be enough to insure it.. 6 to 12 inches down in the soil ...

after your discovery of what is happening a few inches down.. you may need to pull out a hose.. and let it trickle on each plant for an extended time...

ken

I dug down 6"-12" and the soil is damp. Not wet, not dry, but damp to touch. Most bushes are just browning on the inside but several of them are brwoning on the bottom as well. If they were to be "cleaned off" the bushes would be bare on the bottom...

Should I not be worried as much as I am? I do have a 2 year warranty on the bushes but I do not want all of them to die. Is there anything that would need to be done to winterize them or no?

Can you post some pictures? The browning on the bottom could be animal damage. We really need to see the problem.

Frank

I dug down 6"-12" and the soil is damp. Not wet, not dry, but damp to touch

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sounds like you are all set ...

i should have told you to do it on a few plants... we can NOT assume it is the same down a line of 30 plants ...

regardless ... its normal.. and its transplant related .. and with proper watering .. there is nothing else to do ... except relax ...

pix wouldnt hurt..

ken

ps: with a project of 30 trees.. do not be too surprised of one of two fail.. within the realm of odds.. 28 out of 30 is a good batting average .... if all live.. in a few years you will wonder what the worry was all about ...

I can take some pictures if need be, but there are no animals around here to cause the damage. I live in a residential neighborhood, just cats...
The browning is only severe on the bottom of 2 of the bushes. Though almost all of the bushes are browning on the inside from the bottom up. Still green on the outside...

I did dig down 6-12" in about 6 spots across the yard. Same damp soil all around.

I was more worried if they were being over-watered since we have had an unusual amount of rain here. I do read varying reports about water, some say that you could never over water them and others say once a week...

I just want to know if there is anything I should do to winterize them or should I fertilize or anything? I have been using Oraganica Plant Growth Activator once a month since I planted the bushes...

Don't fertilize stressed plants. And yes, yours are stressed, the reason because they were planted this spring.