I assume you are in zone 9 Texas--a very diverse state ecologically--which limits specific advice. Hopefully, whomever purchased trees for the local Sam's knew what they were doing in the fruit trees they ordered. Probably do not know what rootstock it is on? Dwarfing? I assume this is a small bareroot tree in a bag? Plant ASAP. I like to soak the roots in water for at least a couple of hours (you can readily soak for up to 24 hours if convenient without problems as plants can readily extract oxygen from water until the oxygen is depleted and it is dormant anyway). If municipal water I usually fill with water (maximum aeration) a adequate sized container (garbage can or bucket) out of the sun (roots can be damaged by prolonged direct sunlight) and let it sit for at least 2 hours to off gas any chlorine before immersing the tree's roots. If the tree is potted I strongly recommend removing all of the container media (which sucks and can harbor pests) using a gentle pressure stream of water before soaking the tree in a bucket out of the sun awaiting transplant to keep the roots from drying out (small scale fatal). Try to keep as many rootlets from breaking off as possible. One nice thing about a place like Sam's is I doubt they keep inventory around long enough to get "pot bound." edit: Soaking a potted plant is for convenience not hydration---it is to keep the roots and rootlets from drying out while getting the pre-dug hole finalized ready to plant. Pretty much dig hole, stick in ground, water. Select site where it will get 8 hours of sun daily year round, except in winter when the leaves are gone and it won't matter. I like the TX guidelines I linked to below. Some comments: If soil is compacted I like to dig out a 4 foot wide hole so the soil is loosened up. Mark the sides of the hole all around with shallow cuts using shovel running up and down. This will trap roots as they grow out and prevent circling. Fill the hole up with water twice. On the second fill time the drainage. Under 24 hours is great. More than that and you have drainage issues that need to be addressed. More than 48 hours and plant on a raised mound. Less than 45 minutes and you will have a serious water retention problem. Anywhere between 2-24 hours and drainage is good. At the hole bottom make a small cone of loose dirt and spread the roots out over this, before filling with your soil. Position the graft cut so any flat surface present (if) at the interface is pointed in a north to east direction so the sun doesn't burn it in the summer. Paint main trunk and any major branches (if) with water based white or light pastel latex paint. Easier to do now before bud break. This protects from sun and supposedly helps with pest and dessication protection too---I doubt it. But it definitely helps the tree adapt to that first summer. edit 2: A new bareroot tree needs to be watered frequently (and deeply; 3-4 feet in saline soil areas) because it has limited root structure. But the area to be watered is limited since the roots haven't grown out yet. And there is no canopy in need of support. So not that much water needs to be applied. For a container grown plant there may be more canopy than roots (not a problem if ration doesn't exceed 1.5:1) but it still requires frequent watering. You need to read your local Coop. Exchange's watering guidelines for newly planted non-native trees in your soil type (drainage). Water immediately to collapse any hidden air pockets around the roots---add more native soil if needed. Water again the next day. After that you don't need to water until you see the buds swelling up. Then start the recommended watering intervals for this time of year and conditions; though it is ALWAYS best to judge watering by watering depth rather than a schedule. Once buds break a good root establishment should occur within 8 weeks and watering is usually cut back some until summer approaches. edit 3: kind of nice illustrative link, but not very in depth: http://texastreeplanting.tamu.edu/TreePlantingTools.html and one that is on water though not necessarily local guidelines for you: http://water.tamu.edu/water-resources-homeowners/ Here is a link that might be useful: Planting a Tree (TX) This post was edited by Fascist_Nation on Fri, Jan 31, 14 at 12:34

Well I'm in zone 8a, so while not exceptionally warm it has been heating up lately. Last week it was up in the high 70's and 80's, this week a cold front came down so it's dropping back into the 30's at night. It's a high desert environment, so high and mostly dry. I am watering every week now just in case, so I guess I'll give it time. I'm just getting nervous since I'm not good with patience and am not seeing any leaves yet. I suppose I should work on some other projects to pass the time and take my mind off of it. I still need to start some seeds and build a raised bed :D

Thanks mrclint and rasputinj. I ended up getting a Flavor Finale Pluot, an Arctic Star and a multi-grafted peach (my only multi-graft) with Mid-Pride, Flordaprince, Eva's Pride and Desert Gold. So, I think I've just about every good peach save Babcock! Pretty excited and so far, everything is doing very well down in my area. I've got some Immunox just in case we have more fungal issues, but so far, our weather has been cooperating. The little bit of PLC I had on the trees is in check, and very minimal. I'm going to keep note on which trees had PLC and see if they continue to be the more susceptible ones. Now to read up on continuing care for stone fruits. This is my first time with stone fruits since I've always considered them "high maintainance" fruit trees. So, hopefully I can get a simple care plan put together so they continue to do well for me. Thanks for all the great suggestions, I think I'll have quite the little orchard going. As soon as this part of the yard is done, I'll post some pictures so you can see the "walk & pick" section, along with the rest of the area. It is just since a cool, secret place you can't really see from any part of our yard. You wouldn't even know it was there unless you happened to notice the pathway hidden behind our pool. Patty S.

Happy Birthday Rick, but you sure aren't giving us much in the way of information about either your tree or your plans for planting it. Is it a container tree or bare root? Why is it so big? Smaller, bare root trees usually do better than large potted trees. Did you plant it in the ground yet, or will you grow on in the container? Where did your wife buy the tree, and did they tell her what rootstock it is on? If not, can she still ask them? All of these factors, plus several more, will determine when, if ever, your apple tree will bear fruit. Fuji is a late ripening apple, and I hope your season is long enough to allow it to ripen. Go down the road and look at the apples in the commercial orchard. Walk around and see how they are pruned. Then prune like they do. Your caps lock is stuck. Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA