if i recall the pix properly .. beyond transplant .. they look very dry they need some mulch to maintain soil moisture.. and if the wall receives a lot of sun ... you should consider trying to rig some shade.. as you may be cooking the parts above the ground ... and based on that soil.. you might want to make a moat around each tree .. so when you do water.. you can pool it long enough.. that you insure that water can soak in through the entire roots zone.. not just superficially ... the most important thing.. is water.. WHERE THE ROOTS ARE .. but with proper drainage ... and NEAR drying in between good deep soaks ... i hope you can translate all that ... good luck ken ps: as i was mowing yesterday.. i did find that my birch are just beginning to leaf out .. and do understand.. transplants do weird things .. since they can be out of phase .. and being a bit late to leaf out.. it NOT that out of the ordinary ... give them another month ... and insure proper watering ...

I think it will be very easy to dig up and, especially if you didn't tease the roots out, the rootball should be completely intact. It's kind of a judgment call on how to precede with the rootball. You have two factors working together against you. The first is that, from your description, it sounds as if the tree was potbound. That means that the roots are unlikely to grow out into the surrounding soil (and may even become girdling roots later on) unless they are either spread out or properly prepared. The second factor is that you are planting the tree in the very worst time possible. If you were planting a non-potbound pot-grown tree this time of year, it would probably be perfectly fine. If you were planing a potbound tree, and prepared it correctly, in the middle to late fall, in the winter, or in early spring, it would be fine. The problem arises when the root system needs to be compromised for the future health of the tree but the tree needs all of it's root system intact to survive the stress of transplanting in very hot weather. Is there a chance of being able to take it back where you bought it and get your money back? It sounds like the tree isn't in great shape. Trees should not be potbound when they are sold. If that's not an option, I think you'd probably be best off to try to carefully untangle (tease) the roots out around the rootball surface. Keep as much of the rootball intact as possible to lessen transplant shock, but be sure no roots circle more than about a quarter of the rootball. You may have to cut a few of them to get things straightened out. If you do cut them individually, cut them as they emerge from the rootball before they start to wrap around. The roots will tend to sprout out in the direction of the cut root end. Do what you can to limit the amount of root disturbance while eliminating encircling roots that won't grow out into surrounding soil and may girdle the trunk or the root system as they grow. Once you've got the tree replanted, be sure to mulch the entire planting area correctly (see info in link above) and keep an extremely careful check on soil moisture (see link). Properly maintaining soil moisture is going to be critical the the survival of this tree.

I am aware of some parks departments in NE WI who, facing decline of centuries-old oak trees, did in fact mulch huge areas. I am less well-aware of the outcome of these projects. Even the city I work in-I supervised this job-did roughly the same thing in a park where the old oaks started dropping off. But then the summer of '93 came along-heavy rain nearly every day all summer! That area had been dammed up by park road paving project which raised the elevation of the road surface, such that those trees never had a chance. So what was learned? Not much. That area is now a playground, and yes, new trees were planted. But as a practical matter, unless there's something wrong, no, I wouldn't suggest someone "needs" to mulch around an old, established, and healthy tree. One more comment: We constantly here advocate mulching but not soil amending. I myself am in that camp. But.........if a sufficiently large area can be so treated, that changes the dynamics greatly. At that point, we would no longer be creating the drainage anomalies and other undesirable effects of amending backfill soil at planting. This is really a different thing and should be treated as such. True, there may not be much published data suggesting improved plant performance when large areas are amended with organic matter, but this practice does create a more forest-like environment and something about where trees originally came from strongly suggests-to me at least-that this could have merit. Finally, agree with poster above that leaf compost is extremely good for plants, although my primary usage has been as an amendment in annual and perennial display beds. To say it makes a difference would be a huge understatement. And yes, I know, some think the proper name is leaf mold. I don't and I know that's just a quaint, outdated word for compost. +oM

once a year.. shapren your shovel.. and just re establish the weed free zone ... come on.. you can do it .. lol .. now.. no way in the world.. i would plant in a tree this time of year ... i would .. in the pot its in now ... pot it into a much larger pot [no root disturbance].. and backfill the pot.. so it wont blow over in every wind .. and the bigger pot will keep the smaller pot cooler ... i would then plant the tree in the proper planting time for your area ... in my MI.. it april BEFORE it leafs out ... just because you buy it ... does not mean its the right time to plant it ... also.. i would never put a tree on irrigation ... after a good soaking in.. they simply dont need that much water .. once a week.. insert finger. and find out if it needs water .. might be a month, with good mulch.. before it needs to be watered again .... see link for planting and after care ... or.. just wing it.. go ahead.. plant it ... live and learn ... ive done that.. win some. lose some ... especially if you have a guarantee from the store ... ken https://sites.google.com/site/tnarboretum/Home/planting-a-tree-or-shrub