Those don't look bad and you should be fine. There is plenty of new growth. The yellow and discolored leaves will drop. Cut out as much of the dead stems as you can ABOVE the new growth
What you are likely seeing is the result of the brutal cold snap that much of the country saw right before Christmas. We had something like -6 and 40 mph wind for three days where I am in zone 6. I documented it all on the thread below. Lost 10 of these myself this year. Others around here are in the same boat. I've even seen dead ones up against peoples' houses. Very few were spared. These plants are not reliably hardy in zone 6. I strongly discourage anyone from planting these in zone 6 or below.
www.thelawnforum.com
What you are likely seeing is the result of the brutal cold snap that much of the country saw right before Christmas. We had something like -6 and 40 mph wind for three days where I am in zone 6. I documented it all on the thread below. Lost 10 of these myself this year. Others around here are in the same boat. I've even seen dead ones up against peoples' houses. Very few were spared. These plants are not reliably hardy in zone 6. I strongly discourage anyone from planting these in zone 6 or below.
Are skip laurels reliably hardy in zone 6? Extensive...
Skip laruels (aka cherry or schipkaensis laurel) are marketed down to zone 6 with some labels even showing zone 5. These shrubs appear to be a crap shoot in zone 6 and a definite ‘no’ in zone 5 unless in a protected location. This is a long post with a bunch of pics but I hope it helps someone...
www.thelawnforum.com
