Completely winter hardy to zone 6 and above so if that is compatible to your location, I'd say plant it now!! There is no need to wait until March - this is a perfect time of year for planting of trees and shrubs in that zone and the plant will be far happier in the ground (and much safer through winter) than it would be in a container.

The plant is drying out rapidly because it is in far too small a container for its size and is very likely rootbound. Be sure to thoroughly loosen the root system before planting.

It looks to me like your underwatering--by a lot. It takes a lot of water and energy for the fine roots to transport it all the way up those loooong stems; if it's rootbound it will have a lot of woody roots that don't take up water, making it important that all the fine roots have a chance to do their job.

Stick a thin sharp stick into the pot, all the way to the bottom. How's the soil moisture? Remember, overwatering isn't good, but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't water enough to moisten all the soil! If i were you, I'd start by giving it a really thorough soak until a fair amount of water comes out the bottom. When the water stops draining, tilt the pot 45 degrees (lean it against a fence or wall) to let as much residual water to drain out.

gardengal, wouldn't it be better to stabilize the plant before replanting? I'd think you'd want the tree to be healthy before replanting, especially if all it needed was several days of hydration.

Feel free to correct me, though, because I know bupkes about planting trees.

Thanks for the advice. I rolled the dice and planted the tree in the ground. The roots were rootbound and woody like you mentioned. I loosened the roots out, gave it good draining soil with compost and worm castings. Along with a good soak. I will have an update in a few days to see how it turned out.

I'll watch for updates. It looks like a promising plant!

You'll probably get some suggestions about root pruning to get rid of those woody roots, too, but I'll leave that for those who know something about outdoor planting.

Your plant, so your call, but: If I acquire a plant I value that is in poor health and it's not a good time to repot it, I often put it in the ground. Sometimes it's planted out and sometimes it's 'planted' pot & all. Or, I'll often plant it in a container with tons of holes in it (think colander or clothes basket).

If it was my plant, I'd dig it up, correct any root issues (ask if you're not sure what I'm referring to), resituate it in the planting hole and backfill with native soil, not with "a good draining soil with compost". The worm castings are ok for plants in the ground if they really are worm castings and not soil X with .5% worm castings added.

Al

It's always great to see a plant turn around. Good job!

Root pruning is seldom necessary when planting a tree or shrub in the ground. Loosening or cutting any encircling roots is frequently necessary, as containerized nursery trees and shrubs are often afflicted with being rootbound or with circling roots that can hamper establishment or if left unaddressed, potentially shorten the plant's lifespan. This is an entirely different process than root pruning a plant that is intended to remain in a container although the theory behind it is similar :-)

The only other time one would root prune an inground planted tree or shrub is before transplanting to another location. This usually done about 6 months prior to the move and is intended to concentrate feeder roots within a manageably sized root ball. It doesn't require digging at all but rather using a sharpened square edged shovel/spade to penetrate the soil down to about 8-10 inches around the circumference of the plant, often at the dripline or canopy edge, severing any roots that extend beyond that point.

Thanks for the clarification, gardengal.