If you are having trouble with planting larger trees, why not try planting smaller sizes?

Can you show us a photo of the lower half of the tree and part of the ground and also tell us about how you've been watering it. How frequently and how long and what are you using to water. Have you used any root booster or miracle grow or anything like that? Have you mixed anything into the planting hole? Did you remove all packing material such as burlap, wire etc? Based on what you wrote, it sounds like you planted it in burlap and that is not the right way to plant.

I have smaller trees but I figured this tree would give a nice addition to shading my deck.

I dug away the top soil to see how moist it was and noticed I reached the top of the burlap sack so it was definitely planted in burlap. The nursery that sold me the tree planted it for me. The tree itself came with a warranty for 1 year.

Here is a view of the base:

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Here is another shot of the tree different angle:

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Multiple no-no's going on.

Burlap not removed
Planted too deep
Unneccesary staking.

How long to you water it for and how often?

The tree was installed last week. I watered it last night by holding the sprayer hose for about 5 minutes or so at the base of the trunk. The picture you see here was taken about 2 hours ago when I figured it needed more water before posting here. Someone mentioned to lay the hose like in the pic and let water trickle out for 30-60 mins.
I have miracle grow fertilizer stakes but am reluctant to use them.

My biggest worry is that if I am doing something wrong the tree will lose all its leaves and die all the way back to the trunk which means i'll have a dead trunk for 1-2 years with hardly any growth. I don't think I can keep an eyesore like that in my yard for multiple years. :(

I have another smaller tree in my yard that was recently planted (5 ft tall river birch) that all leaves are turning yellow but when I pulled back the mulch I noticed the clay was moist and wet enough to shape into a ball and retain it;s shape.

Thanks for your help btw

Don't fertilize a stressed tree.

What's the light colored stuff at the base of the trunk?

As was said, the tree is planted too deep. Was likely too deep when it arrived at your place. Should be planted so that you can see a slight outward flare at the base of the trunk. That excess soil should have been removed from the top of the rootball before it was planted at your place.

Also as was said, burlap should have been removed.

I see water puddling at the base of the trunk. If that's the only place you watered (via drizzle), you missed 95-plus percent of the rootball.

I suggest you take advantage of their guarantee *now.*

And make certain they do things correctly when they plant the next one. But know that they will argue with you.

I wanted to say a bit more about starting with a smaller tree.

A 15-gallon is a good choice. It will be easier to get it established. Then it will overtake the current tree within 2 to 3 years.

A great bargain but one that requires a tad of patience.

So is it pretty safe to say this tree will not survive?

Ok, decided to dig up further around the tree and noticed that the clay is VERY moist so I don't think it's a problem with not having enough water.

As you can clearly see, the burlap is intact:

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Jeez. Read the instructions on planting a tree. There are many. If you keep killing trees, it is time to step back.

Dan

I'll read the directions once you start reading the thread. I did not plant them, obviously I don't have the equipment to pull this thing out of the ground at this point. I am trying to find out if the tree can be saved.

Hard to imagine trolls even exist on a garden forum.

Well, that certainly answers the question about moisture in the rootball.

But you still have the other 2 problems -- intact burlap, also planted too deep.

You'll want to re-word your posts then as the text is misleading. And learn the definition of troll.

Nonetheless, the words in your posts are I am losing so much money every spring because I am terrible at planting trees. and I bought a Zelkova and I figured this tree would give a nice addition .

Knowing how a tree is properly planted will allow you to plant a tree properly yourself, or alternatively not be taken by people who improperly plant trees and take your money thinking you don't know any better. It is immediately obvious this tree is too deep, too wet, and improperly planted all the way around.

As there is no timeline given above, hopefully you can contact the nursery and tell them the tree is in the warranty period and the people they sent out to plant the tree were incompetent.

Regardless of warranty period, you have two options: dig up the tree and try to save it. Or you could get another tree from this nursery and plant it yourself, as there is a risk that this nursery will do another incompetent job.

Dan

It's hard to say why the tree is wilted so soon after planting though. I can't imagine it would be so hot or dry in KY that it would happen. They didn't even unwrap the tree for goodness sakes.

Here's what I would do.
The tree doesn't look dead to me.... Then again, that's how zelkovas look around here.
But I'd call up the nsy and say '' hey guess what I went out to water my tree and noticed it was planted in the burlap. The International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) advises to remove all packing material before planting. Please come out and replant the tree.''

If it's dead by the time they get there or if it dies shortly after that then I'd ask for a replacement. That's not being unreasonable.

Woke up this morning only to find a mess of even more dead leaves on the ground. It looks like fall in my yard. I drove to the nursery and talked to them about it. The manager claimed his guys new better than that and he would come out Tuesday to look at it and replant it. He told me if it lost it's leaves he would get me a new one.

He did claim that when it recovers from shock it should regrow alot of it's foilage this year but I always read that once a tree loses it's leaves it wont get them back until next season.

At least that's how my cherry tree worked before it finally died.

The projects I've been on this year have planted several hundred trees and nearly a thousand other plants. We drove by one yesterday with well over a hundred trees, and there was one tree that looked like it wouldn't make it. None were wilted nor had transplant shock.

At least the manager is offering to come out PDQ and fix. Hopefully they are good on their word. And hopefully they will train their people to plant properly.

Dan

There is rampant laziness sweeping the nation.
Not just with nurseries now. It seems like people are taking short cuts and making up stuff or excuses.