I have ordered 6 more Compton's oaks. I have several Live oak "late drops" that will likely croak in winter 2014-2015, unless it is a really mild winter. I figured getting them ordered and planted ASAP is best. I have ordered 2 Cherrybark oak trees also, to be delivered in fall 2014 maybe late summer 2014.

Yep- pretty close- I'm at 183 and Anderson Mill (a mile or so south of Lakeline Mall). I agree with the possibility of drought response. The one thing I want to see is if your root flair is exposed or not, even for a young tree. Most trees, purchased from the big box stores, have the tree's root ball sitting in a container of some sort and the dirt in those containers are usually filled up to the top edge, which, is significantly higher than the root flair of the tree. Sometimes people will take those home and plant them too deep or too shallow because they don't see the tree's root flair. This can either smother the tree's roots (if planted too deep) or they will not be able to take hold correctly (if planted too shallow). Either way the tree can suffer. One should always remove the excess soil down to the root flair before planting. Then plant with root flair at ground level. So really, what I am asking you for (for the picture), really is to check and see if you can see the little root flair just at the soil line. If not, you might have planted too deep and the tree is suffocating. The other thing is how much you are watering and does your soil drain well. Chinquapin's require well drained soil. Anyways, post back what you find...and Happy Friday!!

Good deal. Now I'm not saying no pruning ever. Just that at this stage, it is not only not needed, it is probably best to leave the tree be for now. Just a couple more general comments: It may sound funny coming from a guy who has literally pruned perhaps hundreds of thousands of trees in his time, but for the most part, trees know how to grow. So for example that exuberant burst of growth your cherry put on-it's all good. The stems will thicken, especially if the tree is allowed to wave around in the breeze. Later, like one or two years form now, you may in fact want to do some pruning. But most of the pruning we do on trees is for our needs, not those of the tree. So for example, someone might've planted a young oak tree in their yard, for eventual shade as well as all the many other benefits. So in time, they will want to "raise it up" some, which simply means removal of lower branches, so as to allow walking under the tree, mowing the lawn, etc. But these are human needs, not something the tree needs to have done to itself. And whereas forest-grown trees self-prune on their own, our open-grown trees, sunlight hitting them from every angle, will tend to develop lots of low, stout branches. This isn't "wrong" per se, but it might not meet our needs. One thing we do like to do is something called "leader training" which is basically setting the tree up with a strong structure, so as to allow it to function in the landscape for as long as possible. A technique you might want to look up, called subordination pruning, comes into play here. But those are mostly concerns with shade trees, not your ornamental cherry trees. Some overlap, but not completely. In any case, right now is not the time to do any of this1

every leaf is a food making machine.. to grow the roots... to get the tree ESTABLISHED... a tree is thought to be twice as large underground.. in a pancake shape .. than what you see above ... ergo ... you should think about how much roots your trees need to grow ... based on the relatively small ball of roots planted ... until they start growing to expectation ... imo.. it makes no sense to cut off the top.. to try to make the tree look more mature .. including thickening of the trunk ... it seems it would be counter productive ... thats a lot of bare soil.. the trees would benefit from a mulch ring.. to preserve water in the root zone ... in hindsight.. i would not have bought those trees ... it is suggested that smaller transplants go thru less stress .. grow the requisite roots.. and usually outgrow larger transplants in the long run ... and cost a lot less ...but thats water under the bridge.. and for next purchase ... regardless of how long you want to stake a tree... you should adjust the tie downs at least twice a year .. to insure that the tree is not being damaged ... also.. a smaller plant would have been easier to stake ... usually you do allow some movement.. because as dylon said.. they are suppose to blow in the wind .. but i am not sure with these specific trees.. that would be advisable .. to any great extent ... ken https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G58XWF6B3AA