Cherries hate wet feet you may be killing it with kindness. Next time plant your cherry on a berm or mound

Also: what do you mean you "amended the soil like crazy"? Unless you're aware of a serious nutrient deficiency in your soil, there's no need to add any amendments to a newly planted fruit tree.

did you amend.. because you have non draining clay ... ???

and then added peat moss.. which retains water ...

and then water every day ....

then there is probably too much water ...

take a hand trowel .. and dig a couple 3 to 6 inch holes.. in and around the gob planted.. AND FIND OUT MOISTURE CONTENT ... and then water accordingly ... letting it near dry in the first few inches.. before you water again ...

a good primer at this link addresses watering.. amending.. etc ...

ken

https://sites.google.com/site/tnarboretum/Home/planting-a-tree-or-shrub

you might also benefit from a perk test.. to find out how your soil drains?

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=garden+perk+test&t=ffsb&ia=web

If it makes you feel any better, this is a very common problem, for cherry trees to quickly begin declining a short time after they're planted.

It depends on the climate. Supposedly they say cherry trees like full sun, but what they don't say is that's only in certain types of climates where cherry trees grow best in the first place.

Too much heat and sun in hotter climates will bake the leaves. That means the tree needs more water, if the tree has not been in the ground long enough to establish a deep root system. But too much water all the time will cause the roots to start rotting and cause similar symptoms to the tree not getting enough water. Ironically, lots of water can't be used to entirely compensate for the tree not being able to uptake enough water, if that makes sense. Newly planted cherry trees can't handle water loss well, and it's best to protect them from excessive sun in hot climates.

There's a reason cherry trees are more often found in more northern parts of the US than southern.

That's not to say you can't get a cherry tree to survive in southern parts if you know what you're doing.

The best way to water newly planted trees is long slow deep waterings, giving the soil some time once a week to dry out a little bit, but keeping the soil consistently moist most of the time, but not so much water that it stays excessively wet for any length of time.

It needs to be watered consistently, but it also needs to be consistently allowed time to dry out a little bit.

What was the weather like when you were gone? Really hot? That alone could severely stress a newly planted tree, if it was not properly hardened off by the grower.

Better to plant a tree when the weather is cool--early spring, or autumn, depending on the location.

The general thinking of late is that trees should be planted in the native soil without amendment.

Thanks, everyone. Yes, we do have clay soil, but we didn't add peat poss. We added compost and better soil to the spot. We followed the instructions given by the store exactly, which told us to water every day for two weeks, although that got extended a bit because we were on vacation. When we dug down as instructed, yes, the soil was fairly moist. The weather has been fairly hot for here - regularly in the mid- to upper-80s, but that's not crazy hot.

We're in Western NYS, so we should have been plenty north.

I'm assuming this tree can't be saved. Right?

Your free rolling now. It’s not good to plant in july or August so just leave it and water occasionally and if the tree doesn’t make it you can get a new one during planting season

I certainly wouldn't lose all hope! If you get a moisture meter, then stop watering until it reads dry at the base of the tree, it should be fine. It will probably lose some or most of its leaves, but it should snap back after that this season, and then when it wakes up again after this winter's dormancy, it should be fine

Carla in Sac