Good afternoon Christine, 

Thanks for your questions. How many hours of sun do you think it gets each day under the oak tree? University of Maryland notes that it can tolerate full sun (6+ hours per day) to partial shade (4-6 hrs per day) so if it's getting less than that, you might possibly be right that it might need to be relocated. 

My other thought is that it could be a watering issue. How much/how often have you been watering? It's possible that it may just need extra water this time of year given that it was just planted this spring (so the root system isn't very robust just yet) and that it has been quite hot and dry this month, so that could be a core issue as well. 

In the meantime, I do think your instinct not to move it at the current moment in time is good, given the intense heatwave we're experiencing right now. I would recommend erring on the side of ample water for the next couple of weeks and re-evaluating whether it may be a sun issue, a water issue, or something else. 

https://extension.umd.edu/resource/red-chokeberry/

Best wishes,

Rebecca

Hi Chris, 

We are happy to help! 

Excellent move to water more during these drier periods!  Probably can taper frequency to one good soak every week. 

Although it is hard to miss out on the beauty of fruit, suggest removing the fruit to reduce stress on the plant this year, or at least most of it.

Advise against heavy pruning, but could remove any dead branches. 

Mulching the soil around the tree, (but not actually up against the bark) will help hold moisture and possibly even offer a little protection from high heat. Actually, the shade is helpful in periods of high temperatures.

Agree that summer isn’t a good time to move the tree. 

Please keep us posted, we want this little tree to recover and grow, too!

Kate