"It's just that its my trees first winter this year and i'm losing my mind"

As long as you chose trees suitable to your conditions there's no reason to lose your mind. Are you zone pushing?

I just keep watering until the soil is frozen and to determine that I look at various soil temperature maps like this one. Other than that relax. Maybe wrap trunks against deer rub if you expect it to be a problem and maybe burlap against winter winds for tender things in exposed areas. I might cage very vulnerable young trees/ conifers against bunnies nibbling- hardware cloth or other fine fencing.

I don't prune anything woody in the fall- very early spring before they wake up has worked well for me. Fall is more about cleaning up perennial debris and making sure the mulch is deep enough, at least for me.

I just keep watering until the soil is frozen

==>>> but do not create an ice cube .. roots need air as much as water ...

very little water is needed in fall .. as there is low evaporation from heat ... plus cooler days.. and colder nights ...

just check in early october.. [in my z5 MI .. i would check mid to late nov. ...] .....maybe take a hand trowel.. and dig a few holes 3 to 6 inches down.. and FIND OUT what soil moisture is.. down at root depth .. and if dry.. give them a little sip ..... but with your clay.. try to make sure it drains away.. to avoid the ice cube ...

early snow .. and melting.. is a great water source ...

late fall water is not a necessity .... its just something to consider .... in other words.. i wouldnt be watering.. just for the heck of it..

wrapping a trunk for sun scald i might do.. but i dont know about the rest of it ... as the trees get larger .... you arent going to be able to coddle them.. so why do it now.. let the weaklings die off.. if they cant fend for themselves ....

let me try it this way .... watering is a transplanting and planting issue ... its your job to check ... the ability of an otherwise established tree... to survive in your area.. is the trees problem .... and not really for you to do much about ....

ken

You never want to prune after the end of July (and maybe earlier in colder climates). Unless the tree is fully dormant, pruning actually encourages new growth. And that is more easily damaged by cold than fully ripened or hardened off wood. Wait until late winter/early spring before budding to do any pruning.

I also agree about not coddling these trees. Provided they are selections suitable for your climate they do not require any special care other than those suggestions already noted about trunk/sunscald protection and making sure the root system is properly hydrated before you enter your serious cold (freezing) weather period.

We don't worry about roots in my part of the country unless things have been extremely dry.

So check on things if no rain at least every week, especially if it has been very sunny, hot or windy. Then, if it is getting too dry, just water normally, just enough so the soil gets visibly moist down through the root zone, not sopping wet. You don't want to drown things. And do this only if it's getting dry again from the last time you watered or got rain. We have sandy soil.

As mentioned, if the tree is zone hardy for your area, cold will not be a problem. Unless it is in a notoriously exposed or windy spot.

The biggest problem I had in the past and this is mostly with fruit trees, is the mice would chew the bottom of the trunk bark, during the winter, under the snow and girdle the trunk. I learned to wrap the trunk with heavy duty aluminum foil from the ground to about a foot up. Because mice will get through the rabbit fencing unless it is very fine hardware cloth. So if your H cloth is 1/4" squares or smaller, you won't have to worry about the mice.

And rabbits like any kind of tree so put up some HC, chicken wire or rabbit fence around at about a 2 ft. diameter hoop and as high as needed to protect even if the snow gets a few feet deep. If no snow, 2 ft. high is usually enough. Some of mine are 4 ft high and I might have to deal with higher if a lot of snow blows in.

And if deer are a problem, you may have to extend that hoop of rabbit fence up to 6ft. high and add a couple of stakes for sturdiness, so they deer can't reach over the top and snack on the branches.