Newly planted Choisya Ternata Sundance problem.

Hello, can anyone suggest why my recently planted Choisya ternata sundance looks so poorly ? It is about 2 feet away from the driveway, I've added compost to a previously poor clay soil and watered it once a week. I'd appreciate any advice please.

 

Apart from a bit of slug damage I would say it has not been hardened off and unless you have had a frost since planting, it will sort itself out, but you might need to cut the manky bits off at some stage .
I'd leave it for now and watch what happens, it could be slow.

 

Thanks Pete. What do you mean by 'hardened off' ? Would it be a good idea to water it every few days ? I'm worried about overwatering it. (apparently Choisyas don't like too much water).

 

@Alroyrob Many plants are grown in glasshouses and polytunnels, they are grown in ideal conditions to reach sellable size quickly. The down side of this is that the growth is soft, young and easily damaged. Hardening off is the process of getting a plant used to the real world, so I move young plants out of the greenhouse during good weather and back in at night for a few days then I bother less about the wind and rain but still move them in at night after another few days they stay out all the time and then plant. With bought plants I keep them at the back of the house out of the wind and strong sun for a week or so and then plant.
I would ease off the watering unless we get a very dry spell when a good water once a month, after the first year should be fine.
What's the ground like in winter if it becomes waterlogged the choisya will be decidedly unhappy.

 

Interesting post Nigel, thank you. I was concerned about the fading of the leaves and the curling of the new growth. I will water lightly over the coming weeks and see what happens.

 

Nigel has just about nailed it, but I would add, the old spring planting problem that occurs with peat based compost in the pot.
If it dries right out it can be difficult to rewet, but its not been a big problem this year, with all the rain, as it has been in previous years.

So yes, you really dont want to overwater it, but at the same time you need to make sure the original soil ball doesn't dry out before it can get its roots out into the ground.