It is normal for a newly planted tree to shed some leaves while it becomes established......but I will caution you about relying on mother nature and the water this tree needs.......The tree is living from its root ball at the moment and if that drys out, the leaves will fold and scorch....rain from the sky may not be enough moisture for the tree......In other words, I would be hand watering this tree through the summer.....

Ian

Maybe it is reacting to the harmful staking job?

Dan

Get used to it with all fruit trees. You're going to have yellow leaves and leaf drop for the remainder of their lives.

That staking job is terrible. I doubt it even needs staking as it's large enough of a tree.

Dax

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 ....

So the trees are in no danger of dieing? I have been watering them, but just recently we have been getting a lot of rain and I wasn't sure if I would be over watering. Its hard to tell (for me anyways) if the tree is getting to much or to little water.

And as far as the staking job please let me know what I did wrong so I can fix it. You guys are freaking me out now. I want the trees to have the best and healthiest chance possible. As I said I have never done this before. The guy from the nursery said those stakes would be fine, but I am not opposed to changing it. I was told to leave enough room for the tree to sway so as they dont rely on the stakes. And if they dont need the stakes let me know and I'll remove them. I am on a higher area and we do get some serious wind sometimes.

Thanks to all that have responded, it is really appreciated.

Ken,
thank you for that message. I will try to loosen my grip. I guess they're not as fragile as I thought. I will follow your instructions when I get home from work. Oh, and I made sure to spray in the evening.

Thanks for all the responses, if anything you have set me at ease.
I will try to stop "killing them with to much love".... great line.

super...

last pic.. soil looks pretty dry at the surface.. gently dig in there.. and find out how dry it is down where the roots are ...

when you start to get concerned.. focus only at the growth tips... if they look good .. great... if they start drooping.. then there might be a problem ...

ken