Question
Hello,

My husband and I live in Oklahoma, where the dirt is clay, and recently purchased a weeping redbud tree from a near by nursery. The tree is already around 4 feet tall.  When the tree arrived and was planted by the nursery it was full of dark green leaves... two weeks later, all of the leaves have turned brown and are starting to shrivel up and dry out.  What should we do to help this tree revive and survive?  Any tips on maintaining this type of tree will be greatly appreciated.

Answer
Dear Bo, This is a pretty easy problem to fix.  The tree needs more water, a lot of it.  It should be watered every other day at a medium drip for 15 to 30 minutes.  Be sure to water the tree thoroughly for a distance of at least two feet from the trunk.  You don't need to water until the ground is spongy, but you should probably water almost to that point.  In about a year when the tree is established, you will probably only need to water maybe once or twice a year (unless we have more drought like last year#, but for this year I would water every other day for the first two months, then you can probably let it go down to about twice a week.  Fortunately, the tree will leaf back out this year when the water situation is corrected unless the tree is already dead, which probably is not the case.  The redbud is native to your area #and mine: I'm from Texas) so once it is established it will be pretty drought tolerant, but apply the water liberally and the tree should snap back.  Let me know if you have more problems.  Melissa