Question
Dear Jim,
At a commercial site i planted last October 08, today i noticed the leaves on some of the maples in lawn zones had leaves turning red and half of them were 3/4 brown. The buds are small but present for next year. The soil is heavy clay and they are mulched. I do not know what the watering times are but suspect over watering. My warranty expires this October 09, however I want the trees to out live me. What do you think?........Thank you, Don

Answer
My first guess would be in heavy clay soils when a hole is dug sometimes the sides of the hole a smooth and the hole essentially forms a pot in the ground and the roots can not expand out to get the water etc. You can try taking a soil probe and see if the soil away from the root ball is harder than the roots ball soil. This condition tends to not allow the roots to get the water or water that is standing in the pot like structure can water log the roots. Check with a moisture meter near the tree trunk and out beyond the root ball and see if there is a difference. Also I assume that the burlap and the wire were removed before planting. IF a tree in the condition as above is dug up the original root ball is about all there is to the root system.