here you go .... snip off all the stuff below the rope .... then get rid of the stakes ... trees are supposed to blow in the wind.. and those arent big enough to worry about .. then kill all the grass in a 3 foot circle ... then dig down with a hand trowel.. and see if the soil in the root zone is actually moist .... then add 2 to 3 inches of mulch .... and then.. quit trying to kill these plants with too much love... if you sprayed during the heat of the day.. you may have hurt the leaves.. if not just the chems themselves ... otherwise.. as noted .... your recent transplants may not have the root mass to support all the canopy ... so they shed some leaves [which is why dont mind snipping off all those low small branchlets] .. i would start to worry if 80% of the leaves were browning ... if you are worrying about the 2 leaves shown in the pic.. see above about loving it to death .... my guess.. without the benefit of the hand trowel in your yard .. is that they are not getting enough water down in the root zone .. now that the real heat of summer has hit .... PROPER WATERING IS ALL THEY SHOULD NEED for 2 years .. no food.. no fert.. no chems.. and no college fund.. they are trees.. not children.. lol ... proper watering involves deep infrequent water that goes deep into the root zone.. and proper mulch.. and then not watering again.. until the soil under the mulch is either dry or hot.. hot damp soil will be dry in a day or two.. and the mulch is meant to cool the soil, among other things. .... good luck ken PS: BTW.. i have 60 foot serrotina.. furniture cherry ... and they shed leaves all season long.. just like yours... go figure .... its the nature of the beast on some level ....

It most likely needs water. What kind of soil do you have? Even though it's in the ground, until it gets it's roots established, it's still like being in a pot. The mulch that they plant these in dries out pretty quick in the heat. I watered mine every day for the first week, every other day the second week and by the third week I was seeing new growth. Deep watering is always the rule, but remember that the soil around the plant can also leach the moisture away and until the roots reach out to follow it. It's been in for a month now and I'm watering it about every three days and it seems happy and is putting out new flower buds. I will cut back on the water to once a week when the nights drop to the 50's. They can weather our winters but look a little leggy. I usually leave them alone until spring then give'em a haircut unless they start looking too nasty. Hope this helps.

Normal. Both are going dormant.

Faizan, How tall were these trees when you planted them ( the ones pictured without the privacy fence) Those seem to just have some branch die outs but, those smaller ones that are all brown are history. I live in zone 8 as well or about 4 hours North of the Gulf of Mexico in Alabama. The first pics of the small trees holes that were dug needed to be wider and deeper. I have to plant mine in impervious red clay-loam type soil that doesn't drain well (see my posts on GG's and Leland's) In your case, I'd dig it deeper so the trees roots have a softer bottom to grow in but when the trees are set back in the holes spread out the roots like an octopus would look like with it's tentacles all out. Make sure the root ball or trunk base is an inch or two above the ground grade and put back in the dirt you removed (minus the rocks) and walk it in to get rid of air pockets (don't stomp the dirt down). Depending on the soil moisture, that will depend on how much you water it in. Don't water log them. Put 2-3 inches of mulch around the root ball and outer drip line for a top dressing. Don't pile up the mulch around the trunk! I'd come back the next day and wet the mulch until you see it build up and go into the ground and stop. I don't see any need in making berms around the trees (unless the ground grade requires it) as this encourages water to pond in there if you get too much rain or watering. Check the trees in a few days as others have mentioned for moisture content. I'm going to get about 12 Italian's this Spring to plant but haven't found a good seller around me to purchase them. I've always read the smaller grow faster than the bigger when planting and it seems to be the status quo with Leland's and GG's so far. I hope this helps you out and please look at my posts regarding the planting and techniques I've put in place for problem soils down here. Let me know.