We bought this plant a month ago and planted it in front of our house. Since its winter there were no leaves. The branch color is red. However I started noticing dry branches, which are varying in size. They are spread all across the plant. See the images. I took out the dry branches as much as I could. What I want to know is, is this due to the lack of watering or its it a planting issue? I have rock at the ground surrounding the plant. I am not sure if that was a good idea by our landscaper. Please advise on how to tackle this problem. Appreciate any helpful tips and solutions. Thank you.
Looks like a somewhat healthy tree overall to me. Often in young cultivators there is a little die back like that of young limbs during the dormant season. Often young trees put out rapid growth flushes and limbs naturally die off as the tree can not support them all. Also, many nurseries just do not stay on top of their inventory and trim dead limbs off, likely a couple years worth of growth with not pruning on that one. I would suggest, just watch for the spring but set developing and just cut out the dead limbs as you have been doing
I agree with Otto, there doesn't seem to be any cause for concern. When stressed, (as by planting), it's not uncommon for JMs to shut down a few branches. These don't show any sign of disease to my eye, just clean die-back. The first picture looks really crowded, too, which leads to a natural branch and twig shedding process (cladoptosis), although you don't usually see this with such small trees. When you cut off these dead twigs, leave a couple of cm of stub. The tree looks a little deep planted, though it's hard to tell with the stone. One thing I would do immediately is pull the stone away from the base, to avoid heating or moisture retention. At the same time you can verify that it's planted correctly, with the root collar visible. -E