Caragana looks dead

[Hessrakia07]

We just recently bought 4 Caragana Arborescens (AKA Siberian Pea Shrub).* We only had them one week before planting them and in that week, we were watering them moderately.* Because the label said "medium water".*We didn't fully understand that you are supposed to water a lot before they are actually planted.* By the time we planted them two looked good, two looked bad.* The two that look bad are very dry, they look dead and the leaves have fallen off.* I have heard this shrub is very hardy and is Zone 2.* Is there anything I can do to help them come back to life now that they are planted or should I just wait and let nature takes it's course?* Thanks, Heather from Cheyenne, Wyoming.

[Newt]

Hi Heather,

Sometimes care instructions for plants can be so confusing.* :?* Medium water would mean to let the soil dry a bit between watering.* Give them a deep watering once a week if you don't get an inch of rain each week for the first few months and make sure they are mulched.* Leaves are expendable to many shrubs and trees and they will shed them in times of stress.* Here's a helpful site about mulching and watering shrubs.** I will say that I prefer adding lots of compost to the planting bed instead of using synthetic fertilizers as this site suggests.
http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/envirohor...1/426-701.html

Newt