Daily watering should not be necessary. You want to get the root ball good and watered, then wait several days, depending on the weather.

Undisturbed potting soil root-balls and/or liberally amended planting hole back-fill can set a newly planted specimen up for a constant problem with moisture being attracted away from the plant during dry weather. A plant so situated may dry out every day during hot weather same as if it was still in a pot. Until new roots are made and these make it into the unmodified natural soil outside the amended planting hole there may be a continuing need for coddling. If the dryness is severe enough death precludes establishment.

If your shrub was not planted bare-root into loosened but otherwise unchanged existing soil, with no pockets or zones of different soil or potting soil present it could be quite worthwhile to dig it up and re-plant it in the preferred way, with the same soil throughout the entire rooting area.

Be sure to mulch it afterward, to prevent the sun from baking the ground all around it.

If bare-rooting in July results in the loss of the existing leaves if watering is continued a new set is liable to appear before fall, with full recovery starting after new roots are produced starting at stem bud break next year.

I realize there is SOME transplant shock happening

===>>>> that could be the understatement of the century ... lol ..

water deeply.. and let them NEAR dry in between..

and live with the resulting shock ..

future life is in the growth points.. and even if the shrub loses every leaf [not advised] .. if those points remain green and viable.. the shrub can make it ... but it aint gunna be pretty .. lol ...

i dont understand what kind of TIMELINES you have.. that make planting in the wrong season imperative .... i dont understand.. why you couldnt hold your stock until about 9/1 ..

it can be done as you are doing it.. its just that you and the plant are stressin' ....

but i also understand ... ya gotta do.. what you gotta do ....

if this is being done professionally.. then i presume you have warranties.. and you should follow the landscapers directions ...

if you are doing it yourself.. i suggest that you move that timeline FOR PLANTING back about 6 weeks in z5 ... arent there other things that can be done within the plan ... that can be moved up to do now... that do NOT involve planting???

and then move back the planting of large stock .. from the worst 2 months of the year ...

good luck

ken

ps: gardening is more of an ART.. rather than a science.. and forcing yourself into a 'process engineers' time table.. is the crux of your problem .. those hippie gardeners.. are more of.. 'oh whatever.. it will get done.. when it gets done' .. lol .. rather than step 27 part b, subsection 5 dictates planting of shrub #246 at 3:57 pm on 7/17/11 ... whats more important.. the plan.. or the plant???

pps: the difference is between .. what CAN be done.. and what SHOULD be done.. and what should be done.. is to transplant in the PROPER SEASON ... and then it becomes much more stress free .. for both you .. and the plants...

ppps: new post if you want ideas how to hold over stock for a month or two ...

Bboy makes an extremely good point, which is worth emphasizing. Different soil types in the rootball, backfill, and surrounding soil can cause drastic drainage issues in some cases. Planting this time of year can greatly magnify the problem.

I probably wouldn't take the chance of bare-rooting and replanting (as Bboy suggested) this time of year and in this case. The plant is already extremely stressed - bare-rooting and replanting will increase the stress. The weather (at least around here) is like what you'd expect in an oven - not a great time to replant anything. BUT, whether bare-rooting and replanting would be best depends on a variety of factors, and different sources will have different opinions.

What I would personally do (at this point and assuming the root system was not potbound when you planted) is keep a close check on soil moisture inside the rootball as well as in the surrounding soil. Don't let the soil inside the rootball or the surrounding soil dry out in between watering. If possible, it would be good to see some signs of drying out on the soil's surface though.

Be sure you have mulched properly!

See the link below (especially sections 1 and 12).

Here is a link that might be useful: Planting a Tree or Shrub

Thanks for the responses. The shrub has lost most of its leaves at this time, unfortunately. I'll use the suggestions here to keep a good moisture level and see what happens for the spring.

IF the current soil situation was the cause of the defoliation keeping it sitting in the same problem pit is not going to help it at all. Certainly don't need to worry about it defoliating in response to being lifted and bare-rooted, since it has already lost its leaves.

When a specimen is sitting in soil that threatens it having it drop its leaves because of being bare-rooted is not as important as getting it out of the unsuitable planting situation. The roots can continue on for a time without the leaves, but not the other way around.