Well for starters the wire should absolutely have come off. As for the yellowing keep poking around in the original soil ball to make sure it is moist. And not either mud or dust.

interior yellowing is annual .. normal ... and increased by any stress .. like moving a huge BB ...

water deeply.. thru the root ball planted ... and in frequently.. we dont really care if the surface looks dry ... thats not where the roots are ..

pay attention to the growth tips.. if those yellow.. is when you have problems ...

you redug to slit more burlap.. was it moist all the way down ...

deep watering is more about putting a hose on a trickle for hours.. rather than drip irrigation ...

im not worried about the wire basket .. some are so thick.. you cant cut them if you wanted to ... short of professional grade tools ... like bolt cutters.. and who has those laying around ...

ken

Thank you- it was a bit dry when i dug. Ive started moving the dripping hose right onto the root ball rather than uphill of it a bit and shifting throughout the watering session. most of the yellowing is on the downhill side which gets more sun so im making sure to water that side especially. Ive planted many trees but this is my first burlapped and it was crazy expensive so my husband and I are clucking around it like worried hens. So helpful to have experianced opinions- thank you!!

RE. drip irrigation ... RE-READ ken's

once a week of a good thorough watering for the rest of the year

ron