I'm sorry to say but they are goners. I would recommend buying dormant bareroot next time, you will have a much greater chance of success. There are many things that can go wrong when actively growing trees are transplanted and I have killed a whole lot of $$ there over the years.

Scott

If your soil is still wet after two weeks of no water, you have a drainage problem. If you are going to replant I would do it on a raised berm to correct your poor drainage. Al

Magpie:

You can make it a lot easier for us to help you if you would tell us where you live. I guess I could figure it out from the zipcode, but that's the hard way. Understanding your climate can be very helpful in diagnosing problems.

Agree with Scott that planting bareroot trees is better than locally purchased containerized trees, but it also sounds as if you may have done it too late -- again depending on your location and climate. Allowing the trees to sit around a few weeks before planting certainly didn't help. And with respect to your watering issues, have you had any natural rainfall at all, and how is your soil composition and drainage?

Without knowing much context, I would have to guess that you planted the containerized trees in a ball after digging out a hole in fairly impermeable clay or other such soil. Planting in this way creates a "bowl" effect in which water is held within the immediate planting area in the softer, more absorbent material of the container soil. If you planted in this way, and then watered frequently, you may indeed have drowned the trees.

So my suggestions are: Start a lot earlier, don't plant containerized trees, and loosen up the soil in a wide area around the planting hole when putting in fruit trees. It is always a lot more difficult to transplant fully-leafed trees in an active phase of growth than dormant trees.

Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA