In reply to Gayle.
Hi Gayle. They can be tricky to acclimate, and a 12-footer especially (versus a smaller one) would be very vulnerable to transplant shock, I would think, especially in a very dry season like last year in the NE. They are intolerant of dry soils, that’s for certain, and such a large transplant probably would have needed thorough watering more than once a week in such conditions (I don’t know when you planted it and how long it had been in the ground before your trip or before the drought began etc.). I don’t think there is any remedy except to see if it stabilizes and is still something you like the look of (it won’t get its lower branches back). Did a nursery plant it?