Question
Jim,
We planted two Laural Oaks (one in front, one to side) of house almost 2 yrs ago.  The one on the side is doing great, but the one in the front is struggling.  They were about 15' tall and in 100 gal container when planting.  They came from reputable nursery.  I think the guys that planted it in front, made the hole a little small and of course we have plenty of clay.  The tree has not died, but has just 2 or 3 small leaves out on the end of several limbs.  Clusters of leaves are located closer in to the trunk.  I have tried putting medina soil activator and some fertalizer in holes I have created to "deep root feed".  Last week, we built a decent sized bed around the tree to add dirt and perhaps give roots better way to go.  Any thoughts on trying to kick start growth?

Answer
Planting tree in heavy clay can be a problem. The hole needs to be about twice the size of the rootball and filled with good top soil or potting soil. The burlap and the wire should have been removed from the rootball.  There is a tenancy to make the hole just large enough for the roots and at the same time the sides of the hole are smoothed off and it become like a pot in the ground. The roots have a hard time growing out and the "pot" holds water which will rot the roots if they stay water logged. This sounds like what has happened. You can try digging down away from the original hole and loosen the soil and even try to break into the "pot" allowing the roots to grow out. Adding soil around the tree will not help an may even harm the roots that have grown out of the rootball. After loosening the soil around the tree I would mulch around the tree with not more than 3 inches deep of organic mulch not piled up on the trunk. This will help hold moisture and the roots should grow outward. I would fertilize with 10-10-10 fertilize at the rate of 1 lb per inch of trunk diameter scattered around the tree and watered in good. This will add nutrients to the soil away from the tree and the roots should grow out to get the food. During dry periods water with 1 inch of water --place a pan under the tree and turn the sprinkler on and when the pan has 1 inches of water in it stop. Do this once a week if it does not rain until the leaves fall the winter.