Your best bet is to water deeply, rather than mist the tree with a hose or mister. By that I mean pour a bucket (3 gallons or so of water every 3 days or so, if you get no rain. They most likely gave you some liquid root stimulator like Ortho's UpStart with B1 vitamin with nutrients (N-P-K) in the ratio of around 3 - 12 - 3 or close to that. That middle number is good for encouraging root formation and growth. I think you mix about 6 tablespoons to a gallon of water and just pour it in the area of the root ball (read directions). If possible form a bit of a concave (sunken) dish in the soil at the top of the root ball when you plant so that the water will be channeled down into the root ball and won't run off or spill out into the adjoining soil. Also, use a liberal amount of mulch like shredded, treated bark to help keep the moisture in the ground and to keep the soil from baking in the hot sun and reduce evaporation in the early weeks of getting the tree established. Remember deep, soaking watering every other day or every 3rd day is better than misting the tree every day. However, for established rees, I truly believe they enjoy a little shower now and then during extremely long, dry spells. Make sure the water you use is of good quality for the plants and doesn't contain a lot of salts or chlorine. Oh another thing I always tell folks when planting trees is to dig a $100 hole for a $50 tree. That is, make sure there is at least (more is better) enough room around the root ball to that you can get one foot in between the root ball and the side of the hole for gently tamping and firming the soil as you backfill the hole. I usually fill the hole up halfway with soil and gently compact with either my foot, or my hands/fingers/fist and then pour a gallon or so of water with the upstart into the half-filled hole. This will wash soil into any air pockets to make sure all the roots come in good contact with the soil. Let that water settle. Then fill the remainder of the hole almost to the top and water again, pouring the water and upstart solution over the ball until the concave area fills up with water. Let it stand and soak into the soil around the top of the root ball. Then finally, finish filling the hole near the top of the ball, but still leave a concave area in which you can continue to supply water in the days ahead. Even if you use mulch, form and mini-wall of soil and mulch around the original edge of the hole to contain and localize the water over the root ball. Always plant the tree at the level it was growing in the nursery or container or even slightly higher, using mulching material if need be, to cover any surface roots.

Hmm I mean transplant shock can differ as far as how long it lasts etc. I'd keep it well watered..maybe add the root hormone to the water. I wouldn't fertilize just yet? If it needs to make roots, idk if that would be too much for it or if you do fertilize use something that has a really low number for the first number maybe? You could prune them some, nothing too severe but maybe a few canes to force it to want to 'grow' perhaps. Whatever you do I'd keep it well watered for a while, adding in the root hormone to help it along. And leave it alone, allow it time to recover esp where it wasn't really taken care of when it was yanked out and afterwards. Let it stay for this season and see what happens next spring.

floral_uk, even I, an experienced garden didn't appreciate how dry a soil mix can be. I took a seed starting work shop this past spring and was surprised at how much water the instructor added to the mix. A lot of us keep learning as we go along, hopefully improving our techniques. I had to read a suggestion to mulch my garlic bed with straw to prevent most weeds from growing. It was a great improvement to my garlic bed and also preserved moisture. I also attended a tomato growing workshop which a friend declined attending because she "already knew how to grow a tomato". Some of us learn by making mistakes. It's unfortunate that Ryan dug up those plants and hadn't added enough water to the soil mix but hopefully he'll keep reading garden forums and learning. It was a big help to me that when I started vegetable gardening, Boston tv was starting the Crockett's Victory Garden series. I also bought the book and other garden books. Happily, the month by month guide for the garden is applicable to my zone here in NH.

Dig up the rootball and make sure it is moist. You will not kill it! With the different soils, it is possible that the water did not perk down to the roots. If the roots are dry, dunk in bucket of water to rehydrate for a couple of hours. If the roots are soaking wet, shake off all wet soil and repot in a container using dryish soil. Let the roots dry out a bit and then add water - just till it is damp. If the roots smell sour - wash them off with a hose and then repot. Make sure there are drainage holes in the container!!! Hydrangeas are really tough - but they don't want to be in standing water - Drainage is the magic word. I know this sounds scary, but believe me - it works. JoJo is correct! Don't fertilize - would you feed a steak to a sick baby?