I hope you thoroughly examined the roots to make sure they hadn't formed a knot...presumably they were in a container for much longer than they should have been.

Yes: they both look like they came with tiny roots

I would stake them so the top is more vertical. This means the bottom will be angled more to the right in both pics. Then let the roots become one with the ground this winter. Next spring I would tie a string/rope towards the top of each tree, and reposition (assuming tree “became one” with the ground over winter) the stake (tall old school iron stake, not the stamped green metal short cheapies, use sledge to pound in ground)so that the string can be tied to it and help bend the top so it is more vertical (will need to be “overbent” by a good amount). Periodically (2-3x/year) check string tension (untie from stake and see how vertical it has gotten) and tighten/loosen/remove as needed(you are probably looking at 2 years +/- for this project). I also occasionally move the rope position where it is tied to tree +/- an inch or two so it isnt always resting in the same spot. And if you like, put something like a cushion or piece of hose bw rope and tree to lessen stress of rope on wood. Ive done this a bunch with good results. Right now Im bending the entire top of a (8’ish) paperbark maple (multiple stakes) away from a some type of pine as well as the tops of a few other conifers, mostly weepers that are getting too tall to manage. Also hole looks (hard to tell from pics) a bit deep (or you have thick mulch). Double check this as if it is too deep, I would dig it up and add more soil underneath. Hopefully you didnt dig hole deeper than you planted (and backfill) or tree will sink more. Better to be too high than too low. Though your land looks fairly dry/good drainage so maybe this wont matter much. My land is super wet so I am overly cautious as nearly every conifer Ive lost was bc it was too low. In most areas on my property, if my mound isnt at least 1.5’ taller (after settling for 3+ years) than ground level, the conifer dies. Then again, I doubt anyone here digs up leeches when planting.

i would not have planted them in august .... hopefully the heat has broken for you ...

i would have planted them slightly askew ... so the tops would have been more upright .. it would not have bothered me.. to have a slightly bowed trunk ... which you wont be able to see much ... and which would have allowed the top to be more upright ...

i dont know if i would immediately replant them .... presumably ....they are already in shock .. what more could be inflicted ... but if this was done in spring .. and they are getting over the stresses .... im not sure i would restress them ...

the problem with trying to stake them upright.. as big as they are.. is you have no root mass ... to pull the leaders upright ....

ken

I have to say that I wouldn't have paid anyone a dime for those trees.

They may have enough flexibility in them at this time of year that firm stakes inserted carefully as near as possible to the trunks can be used with strong ties (no wire) to straighten most of the length of each main stem. In the manner of setting a broken leg.

Roots of cold climate adapted plants don't grow much, if at all during winter. A time when woody plants often effectively hibernate.

The time when damaged (cut back) root systems of transplants begin to recover to a significant degree their original extent is the first autumn after transplanting. New roots come out of the cut root ends the first spring after planting, there is only a certain amount of root growth during summer and then in autumn existing, undamaged roots have a big push - with 60% of the annual increase in length occurring at this time.

Autumn in this case being whenever shoots have stopped growing and winter stem buds have been set at stem ends. These buds, when mature produce hormones that are sent to the root tips and tell them to take off.

So in my area autumn in this sense for a native vine maple in a soil subject to drought may occur in July.

Thanks for correcting me with the info on roots and their growth Embo. You just need it so that next spring you can bend the top part of tree without the base/trunk of the tree moving as well. I think that generally is accomplished over the winter if planted in fall (in spite of the fact that little/no root growth occurs over the winter). I just know the general technique has worked well for me(dont know if I tried it 6 months after planting but confident it would). I believe some amount of overcorrection (generally a believer of more than less) will benefit a situation such as this. Having said that, I have little/no direct experience of staking along/near to tree centerline to correct bends. I do stake weepers this way but that is not correcting bends, just preventing them in the first place. Just my 0.02 based on my limited experience in 5 years. I could have the thinner one vertical in 2 years or less, the thicker one looks more challenging due to it being thicker (your technique might work better). Thanks again, Ive learned a lot from you, GR8 stuff!

If that were my tree and I had all that space, I would have planted it at that extreme angle so that the trunk would be growing at a 30° angle in relation to Earth, with the terminals growing perpendicularly.

Which of the two shown here are you talking about?