Question
hi jim ,my names derek, i planted 2 raywoods in my front yard , an area with alot of hard pan . i planted in early june and the climate lately is over 100 most days . its starting to cool down now . my leaves look marbely ,dark two tone greens and dead on most of the tips of the leaves . i water every evening pretty heavy . my root stock is above the soil . can you help me jim ? thanx man .

Answer
The worst time to plant a tree is in the summer months due to the heat and lack of water. Adding a hard pan will intensify the problem. The tree is going through a shock from the planting and the heat. I am concerned about what is meant by "root stock is above the soil". I assume you mean the top of the rootball is above the soil line. If so it is planted too high and the top of the rootball should be even with the ground level. I would add some soil around the tree to correct this making the soil level with the rootball. If you have not done so mulch around the tree with not more than 3 inches deep of organic mulch not piled up on the tree. This will help hold moisture around the trees roots. Water with 1 inch of water--place pan under the tree and turn the sprinkler on and when the pan has 1 inch of water in it stop. Do this every other day for a month then every third day until the hardwood leaves fall.

It should be ok but do not expect much growth for a couple of years with this set bcak and the hard pan. Next year water only if it does not rain for a week or so.