Have I made a costly mistake?!

This is all sounding very promising. I think it’s the same one NotSpaghetti. There was plenty of rain during the night so will leave well alone today.

Thank you NotSpaghetti and others.

Hope yours is starting to settle in, Kate54

Up to you .

If you feel like lifting it and teasing out the roots - then okay .
I know that some of the root systems of my trees were not teased out when planted and it's not made any difference that I can see .

Choose a cool day and lift and tease very gently .

Don't forget to stake it .

I like to use seaweed and a slow release fertiliser .

Keep grass away and why not plant some spring bulbs around the base ?

It's a lovely and easy to grow tree .

I do hope that you enjoy it .

Thanks Esmay. Bulbs are planned.

The birds LOVE the berries and can hardly wait for them to ripen. It's a little bird magnet and a joy to watch them.

Heavier birds struggle to get the ones on the fine branches and fly up and flap about trying to pick them off.

I would make the effort to dig carefully out and tease roots out and give it the best care possible, giving a plentiful watering to the hole first and then to your tree once replanted .. Whilst you can get away with things for flowers or small plants with shorter lives, when you want to plant a tree to last a long time it does need more care. If the roots are going round and round they a) wont keep the tree well anchored especially in high winds b) the roots will stay too near the surface and again will not cope with droughts etc instead of reaching down into the lower soil to get more water. As for what gardeners do when planting , I would say that people like Monty Don on TV, only have a very limited time on the show and for trees I would think once the cameras have gone will go back and do a better job.Personally , I would go for replanting on the grounds that you will have done a good job for the tree and wont be worrying in the future about its stability. Enjoy it whatever you do anyway .

Well, I'm a little late but I'll jump in just in case someone else has the same issue in the future. It's okay to leave the tree be. Simply avoid unnecessary root damage coz you could make things worse. Yes, teasing out the roots is crucial to a plant's growth but it's a 50/50 thing especially if you've already planted it. I mean, the roots are meant to provide the tree with nutrients by absorbing them from the ground. It's also the roots' job to take up water. Providing is only part of its role.

Because of the contradicting replies here, I'm not sure what you did, but digging it up only to tease out the roots might not be worth it. You've staked it for chrissakes, so the support part is already taken care of. Still, it's all up to you. Doing so might even make things better.