I should also add that I was looking for drought tolerant trees because it is so hot and dry in Kansas in the summer and I am not good about supplemental watering, I do some, the lawn sprinklers do some, and I hope for the best. Maybe this was my undoing...drought tolerant trees that are getting too much water at the time of transplant?

If your soil is a hard clay that only softens once it has been wet long enough to soften, the amended bed should have been made at least if not more than 6 times wider than the tree's rootball. Otherwise the amended soil may simply react just like a hole does, which has been dug into the clay soil when it fills up with water and takes a long time to drain away. That will make the roots drown in too much water for too long of time.

Was the tree a B&B rootball with clay soil around the roots, if so then there should have only been virgin clay soil back filled into the planting hole.

If you purchased a potted tree and they planted it without removing a significant amount of the potting soil so that the new root growth would be back filled with virgin soil on them, and if the planters did not spade or loosen up a broad amount of planting bed for the tree's new feeder roots to get more air and better draining moisture, then the tree's well draining potting soil that remains in the rootball might be drying out those roots, while the new growth roots might be sufficating and not able to take up the available moisture, nutrients, and air it needs in the virgin soil.

I would really think your local nursery should know how to successfully plant their trees in your local type of soil.

At any rate get their advice about what you should do for the tree, and if it dies it should also be under warranty, as long as they were the ones who planted it.

Sourwood trees need plenty of well draining moisture in soil, otherwise they will grow very, very slowly. The only way to soften hard clay is to apply a constant light spray over the soil until the soil has the time to soften, layer by layer until the soil is moist enough at the deepest levels your tree needs; but not watered so heavily that most of the water simply runs of before the clay has been able to absorb it. Like mentioned above, that only works if the planting hole is not filled with a type of amended soil which absorbs and tries to release more moisture faster than the clay soil around the planting hole can absorb.

Lastly, most drought tolerant trees, must first become well established before they will do well in drought conditions. If a newly planted tree is properly cared for, it usually takes about 3 years before it is established well enough to withstand the droughts, which can happen in any season of the year; even in winter.

Kousa dogwood has little tolerance for drought, sourwood needs a moist acidic soil. All kinds of trees selected and planted must be watered until established. Mulching can make a big difference to results obtained.

Here is a link that might be useful: Horticultural Techniques For Successful Plant Establishment

In addition to the above comments, both dogwoods and sourwood need acidic soil. I think most soil in Kansas is alkaline.

Wichita is kind of a quirky place to plant trees. Some areas have moderately alkaline clay soil which can be difficult to plant in, while most of the city(and suburbs) have slightly acidic to neutral soils with a clay-loam soil where many trees thrive, and other parts have sandy neutral soils which can be difficult to plant in because they dry out so fast. It sounds like to me that the original poster might have the first type of soil I mentioned. If so, their planting site would either need to be planted with a tougher more drought(and heat) tolerant tree than the ones planted so far or the entire area(at least a 20'-25' circle IMHO) would need some serious amending(lots and lots of organic material, preferably acidic organic material, like pine mulch, etc.) to accommodate the needs of a Sourwood tree. Even with that, I wouldn't think a Sourwood tree would thrive. I've grown or should I say tried to grow Sourwood trees on several occasions and they have never done very well here. It seems they struggle with our hot summers, especially days when we have a dry heat(about 1/4 to 1/3 of the time here in Eastern KS, but more frequent in the Wichita area). It also seems they want a more acid soil than what I had planted them in(pH of about 5.7). I've had a Sourwood tree grow little more than 6" over a 7 or 8 year period(and that's with lots of babying) and have never seen one much larger than about 7' tall anywhere in Western MO or in KS, so I really think they don't like our climate. (If someone knows of one larger in this area, I'd like to know!) Also, there are many Korean Dogwoods growing well in the Wichita area, but they aren't generally in the areas with the neutral to slightly alkaline hard clay soils and the ones that are in those areas are either in raised beds or highly amended soil.(again lots and lots of acidic organic material mixed in with the native soil)

Soooo....I would say your Sourwood tree is likely to die and that another choice of a tougher tree would be a much better choice. If this tree is warrantied by the nursery, I'd take them up on it and ask for a different tree kind of tree. I'd recommend a Texas Redbud(Cercis reniformis, or some people still like Cercis canadensis var. reniformis). The cultivar 'Oklahoma' is a very nice one which seems to thrive in KS and takes much tougher soil conditions than a Sourwood or even a Korean Dogwood. Or you could go with the Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis) which also does well in KS. It gets a bit larger than the Texas Redbud and often it's flowers are a lighter shade of lavender-purple than Texas Redbud and it's leaves have a dull leaf surface vs. Texas Redbud's glossy leaf surface(I think the glossy leaves look more ornamental). Another choice could be the Mexican Plum(Prunus mexicana). It's native to most all of Eastern KS (as close as Eastern Butler County), flowers with nice white fragrant flowers in spring, has somewhat interesting bark, decent yellow fall color, produces edible plums, and is relatively tough and drought tolerant. It also doesn't sucker like other plums and grows as a nice single trunk small tree. It also seems to have good disease resistance so it's leaves don't become ratty and battered looking by late summer, like some native plums. Or, if you want more ideas, you should go down to the wonderful botanic garden in Wichita called Botanica (near Old Cowtown and Sim Park Golf Course). They have loads of nice small trees and could give you many other ideas for your spot and maybe some free advice on any potential problems with your site. Good luck!

A link to Old Cowtown Museum for anyone curious to what Old Cowtown in Wichita is

Here is a link that might be useful: Botanica, Botanic Garden in Wichita(one of the best small Botanic Gardens I've been to)

Thank you all for your information. I will try to sort through it and also follow up with the nursery. Their warranty says it is good for a one-time replacement tree (which the sourwood was the replacement), however, based on what you all have said here, they either recommended the wrong trees or they did not plant it properly. That may give me some leverage with the. I think you may be right about the Ph of the soil, every perrenial I have planted that has purple leaves (heuchera & shamrocks) have died in my soil. I think that has to do with Ph and that may be working against my tree choices. I appreciate everyone's help and will work to make a better tree choice next time around!

Get a soil test so you will know EXACTLY what you are working with this time around. PH, soil type, the whole thing.

Death of plants with purple leaves would not have anything to do with PH. There's no connection with purple leaves and PH requirements. If your soil is very heavy clay, many of the problems might lie there.