Please reassure me about my newly planted trees

[FooFightersFan]

This spring, (late winter) we planted two young silver birch trees in our garden. We then, more recently, planted a hawthorn too.

Every day since they were planted, I have been watering them generously. And until recently we’ve also had a fair bit of rain. They all have a layer of bark
mulch at their base.

But the birches are not looking very leafy 😞 and the hawthorn is looking sad: crispy edges on some leaves. The are all planted along a fence in the south border of my garden.

im not sure if I’m doing anything wrong. Yesterday I tried to convince myself that because I’m watering them, the roots are going to develop and this time next year they may well look more lush. But I a little disheartened. The other shrubs and flowers in the garden are all doing well. Although our lawn looks like hay due to the scorching weather this week.

Has anyone got any advice or words of wisdom to reassure me that they will
survive? Please x

Unless it’s very hot and dry where you lived you don’t have to water every day. A couple of large watering cans once a week is fine.

What kind of soil do you have ?

The crispy leaves could be wind damage to the tender new leaves.

Remeber they are trees not perennials , they won’t look as leafy as plants that have to do their whole growing season in March to October.

No leaf could be down the stress of moving the tree when the leaf buds were just developing in early spring. I would not worry about that so much the first year.

Dry crispy leaves on the hawthorn: sounds like leafminer to me? Have a look at images on google and see what you think. You could ignore, use pesticides (no!), or neem oil to help.

Maybe they are over watered?
The roots are more important than the leaves whilst the trees get established.
I would think some sort of feed might be useful too.
Best way forward: take pictures and go to a reputable independent garden centre where they sell trees and ask for advice, they really do know their stuff.

Do they have new leaves developing? We planted 5 silver birches 18 months ago, in the summer which is not the best time. I watered them loads for the first week or so, and just every now and then if it was dry. They have taken really well, but I think at the start their leaves were small. I think the tree puts all the effort into the roots so next year it should look better. Hawthorn is a very hardy plant. As it's in a south facing border it might have got a bit fried with all the sun we've had recently. If they start dropping leaves they might need some more watering but they should be ok

Thanks for all your comments.

They will start rooting properly later in the summer, and don't worry too much about crispy leaf edges, that is just wind burn. If it is hot and breezy again like it was yesterday, you can use a hosepipe to spray the foliage and on the ground around the base of the tree, which will raise the humidity level and stop wind burn getting any worse.

Make sure they are secure in the ground and don't rock about, because that won't help them develop a good root system.

You. Pull get a tre watering bag and fill it with water a cou0le of times a week. This way the trees get a slow drip of water, it's better method than using a watering can, and definitely a lot better than a hose.

You can get a tree watering bag