I am very new to any kind of gardening. I appreciate all your ideas and responses.
I recently had a gardener plant 3 pittosporum silver sheen from 24" boxes to the ground.
They were beautiful when planted. Now I see them with a lot of (what seems to me) to be dry brown leaves. See before and after pictures. There is no spotting or yellowing. There does not seem to be wilting (though I don't know what that looks like). There is not branch die-off.
In fact there is new leaf growth.
But for the worst affected pittosporum, 60% leaves seem to have gone brown and mostly crunchy.
Growing zone 9B (Sonoma, CA area)
Soil - originally clay-ey but we have put compost and balanced it
Watering schedule based on what my gardener directed - first 2 weeks after planting, manual daily for 10mins (until soil moist, seemed to be a few gallons). Next 2 weeks - drop system, 3/week 2x/day for 1hr (I think this was 5-6gallons).
Any ideas on what may be causing this? Let me know if more information is needed.

Thank you!

Where are you located? In many ares it has been an unusually hot, dry summer. Perhaps more water is needed.

Anon4you
Truly, the hardest time to successfully transplant anything, especially a large shrub, is in the extreme heat of summer in a hot dry climate. Those poor roots aren't established yet and just can't suck up water fast enough to support all that green top growth. Keep watering but don't drown it, and if possible, create a shade canopy at least during the hottest hours of the day. Amazing how much that can relieve heat stress.

It likely won't look fantastic for the rest of the year but will bounce back next spring, when you can cut out the obvious deadwood. Good luck!

Porkpal - thank you. I am in Sonoma, California - zone 9b. Definitely have had some heat wave days :(
NMoasis/Zoe - thank you for the welcome and your response! That makes sense, and yes… realizing now that it was not a good time to transplant 🤷🏼‍♀️😅 Great idea about the shade canopy, I will try that out.

Thanks!

You're welcome. Hope it survives.

What is the ideal hydrometer moisture reading for these? Wet (high) or moist (medium)?

There are differing opinions about the accuracy and/or efficacy of those meters. I can't advise on the readings except to say that the soil is best kept moist, not wet, with breaks between waterings — if you've got clay, I wouldn't water daily. In high heat, maybe 2x a week, deep soak vs light and more frequent. I know you're coming into your usual hottest month so your fingers are the best guide and 3x a week might be necessary. Do not keep the soil soggy. I think I see mulch? If so, that's good.