One thing to be careful of, does the landscaper warranty them to be alive, or to be in good condition. BIG FREAKING DIFFERENCE. A local nursery (has several stores at that) warranties them to be alive, but if you read carefully, it reads if any part of the plant is alive, hardly acceptable if there is one bottom branch on a 14' tree with a dead crown, with most of the trunk dead, and I have no doubt that is exactly what they mean as well.

I can only assume you are in a similar climate, as our ice storm was in late Jan (probable the same one) and did extreme damage locally, and we are to hit 90 this week for the first time. Add those 90's to the INTENSE southern sun, and a B&B tree (which losses 90%+ of it roots during the B&B process) is not going to be very happy. I have planted a couple container plants about this time of year, that weren't large, and carefully watering the rootball as needed, and they still struggled the first year. Can't speak for you, but NO WAY I would let them plant my B&B trees with it 90 degrees, in mid-June when the suns rays at at their peak intensity of the year. I would probable be losing a landscaper too. AT the very least I would be enlarging cavities of their body and getting a reduced price due to losing a growing season due to their incompetence. This IMHO just indicates they don't have a clue as to what they are doing. They know how to dig holes, and use a shovel, that's about it, and call themselves a landscaper to try to get a premium price out of diffing holes and shoveling dirt.

Just to make it clear, I would not do it, I would 'fire' them for incompetence, pay for work done only, and find somebody that has a clue, and walk around angry for a while because their incompetence will have added another year to the time it takes to have develop nice trees where they were to be planted, and conversely removed a year from my life that I would have gotten to enjoy them. I would also tell all my neighbors about them, and to not even think about it.

JMHO
Arktrees

While it is true that May & June can be a risky time to dig because of all the soft growth, that's not the case here. OP says trees were B&B'd when just coming out of dormancy, which is ideal. Haven't anyone of you guys ever been to a wholesale yard?????? They have acres of trees which were dug in April and are awaiting sale. These are under daily irrigation, and in the full sun.
The only conceivable problem I could see is maybe the burlap has rotted and needs to be replaced.
Gardeningannie, make SURE that your landscaper uses a tarp when he moves the trees.
Sam

Wow ~ thanks for all the feedback. JM30, I really appreciate the advice on what to watch for. Good to know that I should pretty much expect the OG to look a little rough the first 2 years and not to freak out about it. Also for the mulch and watering info. I have really wanted to hook up a soaker hose and may in the future, but for now, I'd rather have more control over knowing how much water I'm applying ~ just don't trust the soakers on brand new stuff! Will probably lay my sprinkler on the ground, turn the water on low and just let the water run slowly for hours the first few times. I would have been doing it everyday, so thanks for the twice a week advice.

Arktrees, you had a good point about what the landscaper considers alive. I need to check into this. I didn't mean to paint a picture of him being a deadbeat, but with hundreds of thousands of trees lost in January, landscapers are up to their eyebrows in job backlog. Add thunderstorms here and there and the schedule gets put off even farther. He has a good reputation and no complaints in his file, so we feel he will treat us right.

Sam, I really appreciate your words of encouragement. I feel that we are locked into this time frame and 90 degrees or not, the trees must go in. You're right to note that they were dug, balled and burlaped while still in complete dormancy. As the guy at the wholesale landscape place said when we picked them out several weeks ago, "These trees are just waking up. They don't know or care where they are as long as they're getting sun and water." Is the reason for the tarp so that the dirt around the root ball isn't disturbed. Does it matter if the burlap is still intact when the tree goes in the hole ~ would this serve the same purpose as the tarp? gardening annie

I wish you well, and hope it turns out for you. Planting B&B this time of year certainly CAN be done, but it's just awful lot harder to keep the moisture level 'just right'. If planted while breaking bud, or in the fall, then there is time for some root regrowth to provide a cushion before maximum demand hits. As for the trees in the holding yard, absolutely true. But they are also in healing mounds that have fantastic drainage so that you can water everyday, and they are surrounded my other trees that break up the airflow, slows drying winds, and helps to maintain much higher humidity around each individual tree, while providing partial shade from adjacent trees for much of an individual tree sense they must be packed together as closely as possible for economic reasons. Far different than being an isolated tree, standing in a yard in complete sun, drying wind, and soil that almost certainly does not drain nearly as well. You must consider micro-climate, as they ARE NOT THE SAME. You also probable can't water it as often as the tree yard or you risk drowning the plant due to drainage, while trying to keep it from being dried out EVEN ONCE. Remember one hot day can do ALLOT of damage.

While it can be done, if your not VERY careful, then there will be negative consequences, and your chances improve greatly if you wait till fall.

I really do wish you well, and hope it works, and would like to know how it turns out. However, I would not do it, but or course the choice is yours. Good luck.

JMHO
Arktrees

Hey Arktrees ~ thanks for all of your help. I know the timing couldn't be worse, but we are living with the biggest mess for a front yard ~ round-up killed-off ivy bed, dirt/chip piles, sod, which while in good shape has had dozens of divets cut out to patch places in the backyard . . .the messy list goes on and on. If they came in and removed the ivy and chips and laid sod just to make it look presentable until fall, I'm afraid that everything would be damaged bringing in trees at a later date. But I really do hear your cautions and will hope for the best. I will keep you posted ! thanks, gardening annie