I went out to the back of the property yesterday, painful club foot and all, and pounded stakes into the ground around my dog's grave/tree and fenced it in so the deer won't use it as a scratching post and destroy it like the willow that used to be there.
Weird tree. I'm hoping it makes it, but I think my wife was led astray by the garden center that sold it to her. She specifically asked for a shade tolerant tree that's happy in standing water at points in the year (gets pretty wet back there, hence the willow we previously planted), and once we looked up what this thing is, it calls for full sun and well drained soil. Looking at the tag now, it's a "Red Fox Katsura," whatever that is.