Here is another view

Could very well be cold damage, since they were not well established. That kind of injury can also be caused by improper planting and after care.

a lot of my 'evergreen' shrubs/conifers ..... look a lot worse than that.. after our blistering cold MI winter ...

the future is all in the buds... lets see how these bud out this spring ... before we start getting too worried ...

you dont mention what type yours is ...?? .. though i presume you probably dont know ...

no evergreen holds its leaves forever... cold weather makes them fall off and or look diseased ..... some winters.. faster than others ...

ken

It is a dwarf Southern magnolia (grandiflora) "Little Gem".

Thanks for the opinions, I am hoping that the issue is winterkill. We planted another at the same time but a few yards away and in a little more sheltered location, and it looks a lot better.

I was panicing about the camellias (again, another plant we never had in SW PA) but then saw deer tracks around them (ONE good thing about a recent "deep" snow...).

For all evergreens planted, I waited for 2 days then sprayed w/Wilt Pruf. And they have now been sprayed w/ Liquid Fence!