sounds like transplant shock. I would recommend a deep watering every 3 days for the first week or two....then a deep soaking once a week for a bout a month after that.....the tree should recover. By dropping leaves the tree conserves water during times of severe stress. Good Luck.

HUMMMM I don't know about your diagnosis Dre.... I think the sucker has been overwatered already... It's happened to me but I have never killed one but you just never know when those rains will come up and bite you. I really screwed up some stuff last fall after a dry period that I started a regimin of extensive watering immmediatly followed by drenching drowning torrential rain storms... wouldn't that just frost ya... they did not look good after that at all but survived.
I'd cut back on the watering and keep an eye on it but don't let them totally dry. It may snap out of it or and shoot new leaves or be as dead as a door nail ... I really don't think there is anything else you can do but others may have ideas ...but I don't think so ..David

Maybe you did water too much? Put your finger in the ground from now on. If it is dry down to about 2 to 3 inches then water. Don't go crazy, just a good soaking.

Watering is an art that I've never mastered. LOL!! It can be tricky IMHO.

I'd recommend a tree soaker hose, they sell them everywhere, best 10 bucks you'll ever spend.

a red maple like this is also commonly known as a swamp maple, so I'm not sure (unless you have really, really severe drainage issues) you could have overwatered this tree, they like "their feet wet," but you might be giving it a lot of water, but so fast that it really isn't going to the small rootball.

july is late to plant, but the every few days watering thing should be plenty, good luck, I'd bet the tree will recuperate next spring just fine even if it struggles through this first year.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tree Ring Soaker Hose

What did the rootball look like when you planted it?
Was the soil easy or hard to dig? What is the soil like?

To botann...thanks for your reply and questions. The rootball needed to be cut out of its container since the root clumps and main root grew through water draining holes. There were lots of small tight roots encircling the ball and the main root was in the shape of the container(nearly a full circle). In planting I loosened as much as possible. The soil was thoroughly dug around it and I added sandy soil plus good loam all around it. Removed lots of gravel/rocky soil. Still watering every 2 days or so and we finally got more rain this weekend. New growth continues and has not turned brown this time. I believe it will be a loss for this year but should recover next Spring. Thanks to all.