Yo, ammo. First question - what WAS the pH? Pin oaks vary, but 6.5 or, preferably less is what they need.
It is not uncommon for two newly planted trees of the same species to bud and leaf out differently the first year. One may have lost more roots in the digging process and be behind the other.
I wish more people would dig the initial hole 3x the ball size - KUDOS! Good job!
Also, making sure that the root flare is an inch above existing ground level is another kudo.
Many garden centers recommend a product to enhance rooting, one that not only provides phosphorus but, if you read the label, has nitrogen. Bone meal is pretty much innoculative. Nitrogen pushes topgrowth. If the tree has had a lot of roots cut off during digging, the nitrogen portion can cause "scorch" at the margins of the leaf by demanding new growth without the supportive root system. Personally, I do not think the rooting hormone product is a good thing for new trees; just another added money maker for the garden center. Hope you didn't use one of these.
hortster

I did a soil test by taking 10 samples over my 1/3 acre lot. The overall Ph came out to me 6.5.

I didnt use any rooting hormone. Only thing I added to the soil was the bone mean and I added a small amount of compost as the soil is very heavy clay and I figured it might help loosen it up just a little.

One thing I regret doing is listening to the owner of the tree farm when he told me it was ok to not remove the burlap and wire as it would dissolve on its own. I did however remove the rope around the trunk this spring so it wouldnt girdle the trunk.

Why do so many people in the industry say to leave the wire basket, the burlap and twine on?

Screw that, the wolf eyes I just bought I was told to leave the burlap on. I took it off and there has synthetic orange twine...sorry but that will not disolve.

For the larger B&B trees I got I cut the top portion of the wire cage off.

Maybe just give the tree some time to leaf out.

You planted your tree as I have planted all of mine, each of which is growing wonderfully. Just a "touch" of compost to give some nutrient value, yet not enough to change the soil percolation. I an with whaas about removing the burlap (which, if NOT green AND "treated" WILL disolve on its own) and wire (which is galvanized, and will eventually grow into and through root systems) and netting and ESPICIALLY the twine, which chokes trees a few years down the line.
If your pH is 6.5, should be NO problem to pin oaks.
Sounds like you have done your homework and should have few problems.
hortster

It's pretty much accepted that you can (and maybe should) leave natural burlap on the ball, but cut off the top third, so that a big bunch of it doesn't end up in the hole. I usually cut off the top of the basket, too. Ties and straps come off.

The addition of phosphorus to the soil does nothing to promote root development. When are they going to stop with that? Roots will grow perfectly fine on their own initiative and at their own pace and require no 'root boosters' at all. All of the phosphorus we've been adding to soil has become a problem.

ammo, you haven't told us about your post planting watering regime. Lack of sufficient water to the root ball is one of the primary problems of new tree plantings.

Watering? Well, I dont have a watering regime in fact I never water it. This heavy clay soil holds water like a sponge and the soil has been constantly moist without any added watering. Should I start watering? I figured as long as the soil was moist a few inches below the surface the tree had plenty of water.

Gotta run but here's the tree with the healthy color.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9192910@N05/4525910598/in/photostream/

Unhealthy color

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9192910@N05/4525910116/

The differences are more striking when your looking at the whole tree.

Any thoughts?

Those just look like juvenile oak leaves to me. Sometimes they come out reddish. I'll let the experts confirm or deny but there's trees throughout my community that had that reddish tinge a week ago and now they're all green or getting greener.

Well, I'm certainly no expert, but neither of the pictures looks all that bad to me.

There are most definitely red oaks whose leaves emerge red or reddish. Shumard oak leaves come out bright red and green up as they reach full size (probably over a couple of weeks).

I see juvenile leaves.

Dan

looks normal to me also ...

now dont try to kill it with too much love ...

ken

Glad to hear people think they dont look too abnormal. When they unfolded from the bud they were bright green but within a few days they turned the color they are now. That added with the fact that I dont see other pin oaks in the area that are the same color concerned me. I'll relax and give the tree some more time and see how the leaves develop over the next few weeks before looking into anything further. You folks have been very helpful!