Looks like a leafed out tree that has been in a box for a couple days traveling across the continent to me. You may as well semd them pictures I guess but go ahead and plant it lets see how the fella does.

It took 7 days to arrive to me, from Forest Farm.

I sent Forest Farm an email with pictures.

Hi Mike. Yes, I have watered it. The soil is moist in the 1 quart container. Is it possible for the leaves to turn back into their original green color? I had read years ago that once a plant turns into their winter colors out of transplant shock, or shock from a long travel time in a box, that they will then lose their leaves. I don't know if the colors this tree is turning to are their winter colors.

The ground is already prepared, and we have native soil in the wheel barrow for planting. We are thinking about planting it today, to see what happens.

Well, you can be certain it won't get any better sitting in a pot on the lawn while you deliberate. It should take no more than about 10 minutes, tops, to plant it and then you'll just have to wait and see how it manages. You could plant it easily by yourself - the DH needn't come into the equation. If it dies it is small enough to pull out by hand in even less time than it took to plant. Plant it, water it deeply, mulch it and wait. And you are right, once the leaves have started their fall colours they cannot revert to green. If however the colour is due to some deficiency, which I very much doubt in this case, they can.

Agree. Plant it.

While a leaf here and there looks a bit yellow, overall it looks just fine to me; 'specially when you read the description of the normal coloration of its foliage, below:

‘Robinson’ is a pink-flowered crabapple that typically matures to 15-25’ tall. It is noted for its rounded shape, deep pink flowers, red fruit and good disease resistance. Oval leaves (to 3” long) emerge purple when young, turn bronze green with red veining during the growing season and finally turn varying but sometimes good orange fall color. Crimson buds open in spring to deep pink flowers (1.5” diameter). Flowers are followed by bright red crabapples (to 3/8” diameter) that mature in fall and may persist into winter. Birds are attracted to the fruit. Fruit may be harvested for jellies.

just plant it ..

but do let us know what FF says ...

it should have been shipped dormant ...

what really baffles me ... is that mine are just finishing flowering ... yet this one has rather large apples already ..... is FF in that high a zone comparing???

good job on the hardening off ... to sun ...

when planting a leafed out plant.. it is not uncommon to lose some leaves.. i like to think the plant sacrificing them due to the stress... and its always the oldest leaves .... but you always look to the growth points.. and if they are looking good.. so be it on some leaf loss..

its when the new growth starts getting funky.. you have a problem ... but dont go crazy the say of planting.. if they go limp.. they ought to recover in a few days ...

ken

Hi Ken. I just finished planting it. I don't think it will survive, because I think the leaves are changing to it's winter colors. It just makes me mad that Forest Farm, knowing how far away I live, didn't send it out until a Wednesday, letting it sit over the entire weekend somewhere. Many other reputable places ship on a Monday to avoid that situation. If the tree doesn't go back green soon, I am going to ask them to send me out a replacement tree (the tree being no cost to me) and I will pay for 2 day Air shipment. I will also gladly ship the tree I have back to them. The leaves are not brown or shriveling up or anything, but I do think it's under a lot of stress from being in a box for 7 days.

I just looked up FF's hardiness zone, Ken, and it is 8a.

Just because the leaves are changing colour does not mean you will lose the tree. As Ken says, under stress it may lose leaves. It may also drop its fruit. But it can and probably will bounce back. We are talking about a living thing, not a piece of furniture. It will react to conditions both positive and negative. It is now experiencing positive conditions and will very likely be absolutely fine.

Have a cool drink, sit back, and relax.

If it were mine, in that condition...I'd have no worries about it surviving ,provided the deer, rabbits, etc., didn't eat it or destroy it. A few days in a box are not gonna send it into early hibernation or kill it. It's early enough in the season that you may well have at least one more flush of growth before it decides to shut down for winter.

Just leave it alone. It will be fine.

PS, you could have gotten a 3.25 gallon Robinson Crabapple at Lowe's for less that what you paid FF with shipping included.

Good Luck with your tree.

Update;

The tree is 100% PURPLE. It looks like a mini Crimson King tree. It looks worse.

I just hung up with Forest Farm. I decided to call them because I can see the writing on the wall with regards to the weakness of the tree. I have ordered trees many times from Forest Farm and they have always given me excellent service.

The woman there is going to see if they have another tree available as a replacement. I told her I would gladly send this tree back, at MY expense, and that I would like them to send me another tree, this time 2-day air, at MY expense, as well.

Everything I've ordered this year has come to me via 2 day shipment, and it's worked out perfectly. So, I will take a chance and pay for it with the replacement tree as well.

Unless Crabapples are inherently weak trees that don't do well via shipping in a box?

I just called Lowes, which the nearest one is out of state and would be probably a 90 min trip, but they only have a couple of crabapples left. She said the Robinson Crabapple does have several brown leaves though. By the time I could get to it, tomorrow, I am sure they would be out of them entirely.

I also called our local Home Depot and they don't carry Crabapple trees.

Update:

I just looked and saw it would cost $185 to ship the tree for 2 days. There is NO way I am going to pay that kind of fee, for a small tree. I called Forest Farm back to let them know and she said well, that is for the 5 gallon version of the tree, and I said well that is all that shows available on your website. I don't even want a 5 gallon tree. She said she has guys looking right now to see if there are any 1 gallon versions left, and that they take size options off the site when the quantity of a certain size is low, but not zero. She said it would only be $50 to ship 2 days.

Call lowes back and see it they still have it in stock! A few brown leaves in nothing to worry about. All the flowering trees at lowes and home depot are 50% off anyway. Tell them to pull the tree and set it by the register and you can pay when you get there. Much cheaper than the 50 bucks for shipping.

Also here is a link to plantmegreen.com.

They have it in stock and i have always been happy with the stock they send.

http://www.plantmegreen.com/products/crabapple-robinson

Forest Farm is crediting me back for the price of the tree and shipping. I am happy they are doing that for me. They are a great company.

I like FF also.

FWIW, I disagree with the practice of sending out plants in the mail this time of year and the practice of ordering them. The trees ride in a box in a box truck across 90 degree Missouri and Kansas and cook. BUT if they did not then ABC tree shipping company would have had the chance at your money.

There are fellas here btw who have pictures of trees which lost 95% of their foliage in June and have recoverdd nicely. Then again some die after it. Patience will tell.

FF has always been stand-up in my experience. The only thing you have to be careful with is their stuff tends to ship fully leafed-out even in early spring. So northerners will want to wait until mid-April or so to avoid the possibility of freezing in transit or after planting. That's obviously not the issue here. Out of 15 or so orders, FF has replaced two of my plants after sharing the as-received pictures with them. No arguments needed.

The other thing is the ground logistics coming out of Oregon are pretty extensive. The packages take two days just to get to the main UPS hub in California, before finally starting the trek east. Some stuff does arrive looking pretty lean due to the pruning required for shipping and transit time. But they tend to come to life nicely in year two.

The great thing about FF is their selection. They really promote a ton of the latest cultivars that are not widely available.

If you keep the original tree. I suggest you cut off all the fruits. No point to use the tree's resources on fruit when survival is more important and should have all the resources available for that purpose.

I went out at 6:30am this morning to remove all the fruits, and saw that a bunch of the leaves had fallen, and that many of the leaves left on the tree were starting to curl.

I did the scratch test and there wasn't a sign of green anywhere! All brown.

I have to say I would be amazed if it is really dying. Did you water it really thoroughly when you planted it?

Yes. I know how to plant correctly.