On 7/21, Covington Nursery put in a 24" box Shumard Red Oak and gave me a watering schedule. Without going into detail, the lady told me wrong and on Aug. 2nd, I noticed the tree dropping leaves.
I had also been cautioned about OVERWATERING. It was late so Sunday, seeing even more leaves dropping (the leaves were not brown...they were a healthy green...I called her home number but got a message...left a message telling her what was happening. Long story short, she didn't call until Monday, said she had checked and she had told me wrong and it was probably too dry and the tree roots was compensating by dropping leaves. She finally came out on Tues and asked me again my water schedule and said she misunderstood how often and how long my sprinkler system worked and I had indeed let it get too dry.
Long story short...I've lost a lot of the leaves of this once beautiful, lush Red Oak...and may lose some more. I've soaked it really good by hand and have increased my sprinkler system time also. Matter of fact, yesterday I saw water running into the alley after all was done. Oh...it's on a slight incline also.
Main question...I see buds...is this tree going to survive or should I have Covington replace the tree?