Question
we planted 2 ilex 'Red Beauty' in early fall last year. I sprayed them with anti-dessicant, and they looked good through most of the winter, which was very tough here in northern NJ. But now, almost all of the leaves are brown except for the lowest 8-12" or so. Those leaves are green, and most of the stems show green when I scratch them. Will these recover or should I just pull them out and start again? Thanks.

Answer
Since the stems are still green it means there is still life in the plant. I would wait and see what happens. I would not at this point prune the brown leaves off but wait until you have new leaves budded out. That way you can tell which branch id dead or not. Then you can prune the dead branches back. With green leaves it should recover but will take time to grow back to it original shape.