Please help...What is hurting my Osmanthus fortunei?

[2thdr]

I live in central North Carolina. We planted about 20 of these last fall to grow as a screen b/t us & our neighbors. Mid to late summer, I noticed this happening on a lot of the new growth leaves. I thought it might be a fungus & sprayed Neem oil every week or two for probably two months but it just seemed to spread further. I fertilized them with Bayer Rose fertilizer (liquid) 3 times from spring to early fall.

I just went out & trimmed off all affected leaves hoping to rid them of whatever is going on before new growth starts. Does anyone know what is going on & how I can stop it? I've attached photos. Any help is greatly appreciated.

[ButterflyLady29]

First of all, it's a personal thing but I don't like to fertilize trees and shrubs their first year. They need to get their roots established before putting out new top growth. Second, did you dig a proper size hole, loosen the roots, mulch and water correctly? Since these are newly planted shrubs the first place to check would be the root zone. And third, what was your weather like over the summer? Hot, dry weather is very stressful on any new plantings.

[imafan26]

I grow osmanthus fragrans which might be related. It looks a little like salt burn or fertilizer burn. What is the condition of the soil. Does it drain well? Over or underwatering can also lead to leaf burn. It makes a good potted plant since it is slow growing and very fragrant especially in the evening. It grows best for me in partial shade. In full sun the leaves take on a slightly red tinge around the edges and they tips can burn especially in summer. It is not that fussy about soil but it does not like to dry out a bit between watering. I only rarely fertilize mine and I usually use a slow release fertilizer.