You are right on when you say this is not a good time to transplant. However, you are also right when you say that it was better to transplant than discard.

Most likely you tore up a lot of feeder roots. In this heat that makes it difficult for the tree to take up water. I suggest that you drip in water for long periods. I also suggest that you hose off the leaves. Don't do this in the middle of the day as the water drops will magnify the sun's rays.

There are many who suggest adding Vitamin B1 in a diluted form. I am not sure if it works, but it is sure worth a shot.

Misting it as often as you during the middle of the day will help reduce stress. I've planted a few things this week and with mist they've been fine. If you happen to have a garden umbrella big enough, any shade you can give it would help too--shading the roots at least might also reduce stress.

I was also going to suggest giving it some shade, but I was thinking more in BIG terms of getting some shade cloth and actually stretching it in the air-space over the tree. Also, water a bit further out than just where you dug your hole. I almost lost one of my big ones because it wasn't getting enough water from the surrounding area.

Thanks for your advice! I was unable to get some shade to it since it would be in the way of the workers. We were giving it a lot of water in the beginning, but cut way down since someone mentioned that it's easy to over water. The tree does not look good. The leaves are brown and dry and some of the branches (at least half) have turned black. Next week we are having a tree expert come out to take a look it and we'll go from there.

Thanks again!

I love this tree as well, but it is a nuisance once it becomes big. Of course, if you have plenty of land you should be okay. It is notorious for its mess, but also for lifting sidewalks and messing up home foundations, and near pools it can crack the concrete. Just something to think about. 3 feet from a pool I've never seen or heard of for this tree.

One of the most beautiful shade trees when grown in the right place. When grown in a lawn the constant water required by the grass can cause root rot, eventually killing the tree. Finding a grass that will tolerate the combination of shade and infrequent deep watering is a challenge. Al

Here in Sacramento the "powers that be" are planting Camphors in median strips and parking lots in new developments. Just wait for them to get a good size!

I had one that I grew from seed in the back yard, but I took it out (very painful; it was 10' tall and 6 yrs old) when I started reading about some of its negative traits... I replaced it with a native sycamore which will also become a large tree but better supports wildlife and doesn't have some of the purported allopathic tendencies.

Mike