Just planted 7-8 foot paperbark maple, had no choice but to amend the soil since we removed the existing birch tree in that same spot we didn't have enough clay soil. Not sure how much to water. Watered it in the pot it was a b/b. Then planted it. Didn't water it. Next morning gave it a juice container full of water in the morning. It is mulched but not sure how much to water to give or how often, don't want to over do it. The bottom of the pot was stinky not sure if roots were starting to rot. Soil feels damp. Is this all i go by?? Leaves are so delicate i can't tell if they are weak, needs water, a few of the real tiny leaves dried up maybe thats just from transplanting?? The rest of the leaves seem to be ok. The other thing i did was to really push the amended soil as compact as possible. BUT one thing im not sure about . After the tree was planted it still wasn't high enough so i pulled it up with one hand and pushed soil back under the tree with the other hand seemed to be ok, my concern now is air pockets. As long as it gets watered properly will any air pockets that could have been created disappear? Is this truely a problem? Another note-- I didn't realize i wasnt to remove the burlap completely when you plant the tree and i did --i feel very nervous!!! Whoops!
This is the most worrying aspect of your story. If the tree was kept in a pot with no drainage there is a chance the roots started to rot, but hopefully not. You were right to remove the burlap, and to raise the tree when you saw it was planted too deep, I wouldn't worry too much about possible air pockets. It will be best to give the tree a deep watering once a week or so, more often if the weather is very hot and sunny, and not at all if there is plenty of rain.
Thank you so much for responding to my post, i've been very worried, you made me feel better. The pot by the way did have drainage holes but there was definitely a smell. I gave the paperbark maple a deep watering tonight and will water as you had said and watch the weather forcasts. I hope the leaves will become a little thicker as they turn green so they won't feel so delicate/weak. What is the difference between a deep watering and a possible saturation since the top 3-4 inches will be soaked-- how do you know if you are giving too much even if it is once a week. Is there a rule of thumb for length of time to water a tree?
Impossible to say for sure how long to water because it depends how free draining, or otherwise, your soil is. I water by hand and would give a transplanted tree that size about 20 litres (5 U.S. Gallons) in my conditions, waiting at least a week between waterings.
