Hey Margaret,
Things are probably quite different in your hot/dry climate than around here (VT), but if your little baby seedlings have good
water and nutritious soil, it may take them a little longer to sprout leaves.
They will need to establish
enough roots to draw water up and open the buds to form leaves, especially of the tiny roots were damaged during replanting. What have you done to amend the soil around them ? Any fertilizer or lime mixed in? I've used an organic fertilizer called
Neptune's Harvest (probably made from fish guts -- linked here:
http://www.neptunesharvest.com/), and we've used a pelletized lime that we mixed with topsoil and
compost to make a sort of tree nursery mix for our fruit and nut trees. We've had ~100% success with transplanting 2' tall plants, though some seemed weakened for the first few months by
root damage during transplantation. For bare root trees and smaller slips, most have done well. Then again, we're in a much different climate with OK soils, though very rocky.
Be sure they have enough moisture - the soil will need to be soaking wet at first, then when you do water them, make sure they get a good soak.
We just put in ~50
native Blueberry slips -- planted directly into good rich soil in fallow raised beds without all the amendments -- so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they will grow, just like you.
Good luck with your treasured little trees!
