BTW, if you have other questions about hollies, the Shrub Forum might be the best place to search for answers.

Thanks for the info. I might have been watering to much and to quick. The soil in the root ball is definetly not the same as the soil in my yard. I left the burlap on the root ball when i planted them and cut away the top part around the trunk. I was told the burlap that is under the ground will root away and not affect them. Is this true or could that be part of the problem?

If the yellowing of leaves is happening to the interior foliage, this is quite normal as the plant acclimates to its new home. Hollies can also shed quite a bit of interior leaves just as the plant starts to put on new growth.

I disagree with jpaulmoore that this is 'normal'. Healthy B&B hollies, if planted properly (a big IF)into an appropriate site, and followed up with the right kind of post planting care, should not yellow or defoliate.

Human error is the most frequent cause of problems during this process and can occur at almost any stage of the project. Follow brandon's advice to water the root ball deeply and carefully by hand.

Opinion is mixed about the burlap. I've always followed along with the newest best management practices, which have changed over many years, but suggest that you should make sure that the burlap is all natural and not synthetic, and cut away the excess. Remove any ropes and straps, as well. I've always cut away the top of the wire basket (if there is one), all of which you can do once the plant is seated in the hole. Of course, if everything can be removed without disturbing the root ball too much, go ahead. Avoid doing anything that will cause that root ball to disintegrate.

The attached link, which is by the much respected Ed Gilman, recommends an approach based on several external factors. 'It depends' is almost always a great answer when it comes to something like this.

Here is a link that might be useful: Check this fact sheet

I agree with almost everything rhizo said, but I will add that some natural burlap is treated and should also be completely removed like the synthetic stuff. Also, as stated in rhizo's link, there are conditions where even natural burlap takes much too long to break down. I make it a practice to remove all burlap whenever possible and to remove all that possibly can be removed in situations where 100% of it cannot be reasonably removed (with very large rootballs).

The only thing that I don't completely agree with is the need to keep the rootball intact. A lot of the old advice stresses this, but much of the newer information indicates that this is not critical. The important thing is not to leave large air gaps when planting is complete. There are even some (not me) who make it a practice to remove all soil from the rootball before planting, and plant in only native soil.

I don't believe that the burlap is playing any part in the problems you are experiencing. The only way it really could is if you had left burlap above ground level and the burlap was wicking moisture from the rootball (a pretty common problem where there is exposed burlap). Except for the wicking issue (which it sounds like you avoided), burlap issues only show up after a few years in the ground.

While some may disagree, B&B hollies can be notoriously difficult to transplant. They lack fibrous roots and can go through quite a bit of transplant shock even when carefully dug from the nurseries. Proper planting and watering is critical (as it is with all plants) but hollies can and will lose some of the interior(the key word is interior)leaves. As long as the foliage on the outermost part of the hollies remain healthy and green you are good to go. It is also normal for hollies to shed interior leaves as they begin to put on new growth in the spring.

It appears that jpaulmoore is the only one who read the OP.
It says "leaves on the inside of the trees are turning yellow". This is perfectly normal and to be expected with newly transplanted 'Nellie Stevens' and opacas.
I dug 4, small (36") opacas about a month ago. The roots on holly are always lousy to dig, even worse if they are cutting grown. 3 held together and I slapped a burlap on, the 4th mostly fell apart. You guessed it, the one which fell apart died, the ones which were intact never lost a beat. My BIL planted them with burlap intact. I guarantee you he never watered them, however rainfall has been plentiful this Spring.

Sam, if I were you, I wouldn't make that assumption. You know what they say about assuming things....

I think what I wrote is correct. A few yellowing leaves are fine. Many indicate a problem. A significant amount of leaves yellowing, immediately following transplant, is a sign that the shrub is probably suffering from some transplant shock, improper watering, etc. The fact that the hollies were so large are another flag that a large enough rootball might not have been dug.

I planted a 6' Nellie Stevens last fall in south-central PA. Over the winter, there were several days that the temperature was in the "teens", and many periods that winds were very strong, like a "wind-tunnel" effect. Today (April 13), my holly has lost 70 - 80% of its foilage. What (major step) can I make to reverse this trend; the holly is still alive but the trend is still downward.