When was the tree planted? Once established, tupelos are remarkably drought tolerant.

in the spring of 2018... May i think... so just 15 months..

i've got it in a spot that receives sun from 1 pm to early evening... is that enough? i know am sun is better...

Agree with GG - these trees can take bog-like conditions and get through our bone-dry summers with little to no additional irrigation. Your tree doesn't look too bad, either. Give it a soak every month or so if you are concerned about dryness.

from what i can tell .. it looks like a rather large transplant ... as such it is NOT established ... and ergo .. not going to perform to species tolerances ...

dig 3 to 5 small holes.. down 3 to 6 inches.. and if its dry.. water it ... you need to insure moisture at root depth ....

it should also be properly mulched ...

all that said.. a couple weird leaves dont impress me as a great problem .. and once i confirmed moisture at depth ... i wouldnt worry about it ..

in fact.. if you had a hail storm or some such back 4 to 6 weeks ago.. maybe these leaves were slightly damaged .. and are only now showing the damage ... when the heat of august shows up???? ....heck even a late frost .. arent you up in canada?? .. ask yourself. what happened since it leafed out ... but its hard to remember minor spring damage.. when its the heat of august ... eh??? ... lol

ken

ps: and if you arent in canada.. forgive me ... lol ...

Ken we haven't had any frost. up here.. it's been a warm 6 weeks or so... and I haven't seen hail here in years. I watered all of my plants - shrubs and trees - planted in the past 2 years... every time they say it may rain, it doesn't.. or we get . aminor sprinkle.. areas to the north and south . have received rain though.

I planted a N.s 'Tupelo Tower' and a 'Wildfire' back in May in what is a seasonally flooded area and I water them on a bubbler for about 20 minutes each every 3-5 days regardless of rain. I had a few leaves turn red over the last week or so, but otherwise they look fairly similar.

How do you like your tower so far?

I'm actually thinking of moving it this fall after leaf drop. I have plans for some other plants/trees and the tupelo will get more sun in the other location I'm thinking of moving it to..

How do you like your tower so far?

I am really looking forward to seeing it mature. It has a decent shape and the growth in its first year was more vigorous than I expected.

I have a very challenging property with a creek bisecting my 10 acres and clay soil, so finding solutions to the low-lying wet areas and dealing with massive losses of Elms and Ash trees, not to mention a recent migration of beavers, has been heartbreaking, a challenge, and exciting.

As I mentioned, a few leaves turned their brilliant red fall colour, giving a preview of their soon to be glory, and I can't wait to look west-ward towards the setting sun and seeing them back-lit in the fall.

Buying trees in Ontario can be both limited in selection and expensive so I was happy to find a Tupelo in good shape for a decent price.

I didn't know you're from Ontario.. where about are you? I bought my nyssa at Vineland nursery near St. Catherines.. hard to find tupelo but that place carries a lot of "exotics"

In Haldimand County near Cayuga. Yeah Vineland is great, I've been there 3 or 4 times this season and bought a bunch of stuff. I had remembered you were from Ontario too so I felt my Nyssa experience might be similar. I'm not sure why our zones/locations aren't showing on our name tags any more.

I'm a collector so I go pretty much everywhere, but for the best selection of things you won't find at most garden centres my go to spots are Vineland, Whistling Gardens, and Lost Horizons. Other places I go to for more fringe selections are Harpers in Ancaster and Cole's in Grimbsy. This year from Cole's I got a spectacular Metasequoia g. 'Miss Grace' and Picea omorika 'Pendula Bruns' from there, along with Cercis canadensis 'Ruby Falls', 'Rising Sun', Tsuga canadensis 'Gentsch White', and Cornus kousa 'Wolf Eyes'.

I also check the chain stores because every once in a while you'll get a gem. I picked up a Cercidiphyllum japonicum 'Claim Jumper' from Terra for $100 that is probably 10' tall. I think they let it dry out and Katsura will let you know quick if you let them dry out, so they reduced it from $220. I planted it last weekend and it immediately picked up and looked fantastic.

Anywho, sorry for the novel! I guess my point was that as far as pricing goes we definitely pay more than our gardening friends south of the border, and our mail order and shipping options are abysmal in comparison.

I've come close to buying from Whistling Gardens.. the others I don't know... I planted a cercis species but haven't tried the cultivars for fear of losing them.. I am north of T.O. and 2 climate zones cooler than you... I've wanted to try the rising sun but I've been advised against it...

I am a great killer of trees, and a Rising Sun has already fallen to my powers, but I am trying this one as an espalier against the Northern side of my house so we'll see.

I'm told you need at least Z6 for Rising Sun...We get Z4 temps occasionally... You guys are Z6 I think.. Should work especially if n the east side of a property.