I have a new dappled willow tree that I planted in clay soil (I mixed gardening soil in with the clay) in full sun zone 5a. The leaves are starting to turn brown and i cannot tell if I've watered too much or not enough? I did plant it about 2" above the soil line to give it more air. any advice would be most appreciated, I don't want to lose this beautiful tree!
A picture would be helpful. Also, how often have you been watering it? It's probably transplant shock, especially if your weather's getting warm, it is stressful for plants when they get plopped into sun and heat, their roots aren't able to take up enough water to keep the top growth happy even if there's plenty of water in the soil. So I would regularly check several inches down in the soil and see how wet things are before you water--you don't want to let the plant dry out, but if there's plenty of water there and the roots just haven't taken it up yet and you add more water you can end up overwatering, especially in clay soil.
Mine is growing in mainly clay. I do seem to recall it going through similar problems. I would agree on being careful not to overwater it. Hopefully you will get some cooler or cloudy weather to ease the stress.