I planted 4 olive trees 6 feet tall about 3 years old due to location I could only get small rootballs it’s been a week but the

Question

leaves are curling. Should I prune back drastically and keep watering daily? I planted 4 olive trees 6 feet tall about 3 years old due to location I could only get small rootballs it’s been a week but the leaves are curling. Should I prune back drastically and keep watering daily?

Answer 1

No, don’t prune back drastically.
Yes, keep up the watering.
Small root balls means extensive loss of absorbing roots. That can be a death blow for transplanting an olive.
I can’t determine you location in the world from the Zone 2233 indicated. If you are in area where you have 2 more months of warm weather, then you may see a growth response in that amount of time. If you are in a colder winter climate starting now, then you may have to wait until spring to see if they have survived and will begin to put out new growth.
I have transplanted thousands of olives and swear by this product, Superthrive, to help avoid transplant shock.
https://www.domyown.com/superthrive-the-original-vitamin-solution-enhanced-with-kelp-p-9474.html
If you are in the US or UK it may be available at a local garden center. I would shoot down there and pick some up and put a dash in the water, get it muddy wet. Slide a straight shovel straight down into the backfill mud all the way around the root ball, to make sure there are no air pockets, and to let the water with the Superthrive penetrate to a deeper level and contact the outer root ball and cut ends of the roots.
On a longer term recovery program, after the tree shows some new growth and you have reason to believe they will survive, use this great liquid kelp and humic acid product to help stimulate new root growth:
https://www.domyown.com/essential-plus-p-17626.html