hey batgirl.. hows robin??? newbie huh??? ... many posts.. many worries ... gardening is supposed to be relaxing.. and you seem to be worrying to death ... if all your plants have a guarantee.. just freakin relax ... OK?? now.. yanking anything from a pot.. and sticking it in the ground .. disturbs its ability to pump water, because you messed with its roots ... make sense so far ... there is only one reaction .. it sacrifices leaves ... to which it could not pump enough water [especially if there was a heat wave immediately after planting] ... with me ... and here is the part you need to understand ... BEFORE YOU GO INSANE ... >>>>THIS IS NORMAL ... all the life in the plants.. are in the growth tips.. and even if it loses/sacrifices every single leaf.. if that growth tip thrives.. the plant will recover ... though it might look ugly for a while ... so just relax ... now.. could you have avoided this.. yes ... probably ... with the following: proper planting .... proper timing... a few weeks earlier would have made this all done when the plant had fewer leaves .. and the weather was cooler... leading to less problems pumping water ... proper mulching.. and proper watering ... if you read thru a few pages of back posts.. you ought to see many.. many posts about how to do it better ... and would be a great start to increasing your knowledge base ... but when all is said and done.. its nearly foolproof ... and me thinks you simply worry too much ... many say .. that you are not a true gardener.. until you have killed every plant in your garden 3 times.. and trust me... all of us have ... [and many years from now... like many of us.. you will wonder why you were so enthralled with a pussy willow.. lol] ... have a bat beer.. and relax.. odds are .. they will all recover.. the only issue is whether you will be certifiable before it happens... lol good luck .. we need more gardeners.. ken

Willows take a lot of water - I lost my first 'Hakuro Nishiki' because I had it on the same watering system as the plants around it and it simply needed more (I sited the second one differently!) Also, when plants are stressed (too much or too little water, for example), they generally drop the older leaves first, as they turn from assets to liabilities. Make sure that as you water going forward, you follow jean001a's advice. Once the root system develops watering will be less of an issue, as the roots are aggressive and will seek water where they can find it. They are gorgeous plants once you get them going, although you may have to really take yours in hand to make sure that it stays small enough for its space. Mine is only two years old and is at least 6' across, 4' high.

it was sarcasm to suggest you get rid of it .... to mock you into understanding that your preconceptions are a bit hasty ... my eyes are supreme to me ... it is of little use to be a blind gardener ... all my trees are limbed up.. so that i may walk [and drive the rider] safety about the yard without worrying if i am going to poke out an eye ... i am quite lax in actually pruning things.. but if one of those chuckers knocks off my glasses or the baseball cap .. i run to the garage.. and saw off that limb with vengeance ... my point simply being.. that in the future.. you might want to do the same ... but mostly is was taking about the just the 3 bottom stubs .. not the first set of major branches .... in my yard.. i use properly diluted round up for grass in beds .... it only works on greenery .... so it will kill the grass with no impact to the trunk of the tree [though i would avoid it] .... and it does not work in the soil ... presuming you arent dumping a 55 gal drum of it there .... that grass is stealing water.. which is the only thing that tree needs for its first 2 years .... so get rid of it ... and it will not help the tree to go digging in there too aggressively to remove it ... IMHO ... but that would still be better than leaving it ... water deeply into the root zone.. and then do not water again.. until your finger.. inserted to the second knuckle.. indicates the soil is dry or hot [hot soil under mulch will be dry tomorrow]... that is watering 'well'.. or good.. or goodly ... more betterer than others ... the size of the ring around any of my trees.. is the ability of the riding mower to turn in a circle.. which give me 4 to 5 foot rings around my trees .... which is a bit bigger than yours ... below are a few pix of those which are an island unto themselves .... good luck ken and this one i planted from an acorn 4 years ago .... oh wait.. thats in your dreams .. not mine.. lol ..

Gardeningrandma, Im was told by my builder that it was a red oak...but that means nothing in all honesty. I pulled a leaf and It does appear to be a silver maple. Good call. Now the branch with the yellowed section in question is quite long...perhaps 6 - 7 feet but only the top half has the damage which is why I was wondering what was going on. I am new to tree terms so bear with me...but the runners (new limbs) beneath the yellowed section are a healthy red color on their bark, and the ones in the yellowed section are a dull gray like the trunk of the tree. I wish I could change the topic now! I feel so uninformed.:) I will investigate it for branch or bark damage. I did not know where to start but now I have learned something. If that's the case and the branch wants to drop, I will be taking a huge chunk of the tree away but I suppose it needs to be done. I have never pruned before as I am a new homeowner with new homeowner responsibilities.