Wait, you lost HALF the leaves just from moving them? That's brutal. I've never seen transplant shock hit that hard before. Sounds like Sarah's advice did more harm than good in your case.

My neighbor tried shorter posts and got 50 cats following her blog instead of customers.

Noticed something nobody's talking about though - how much those hourly changes in humidity play into it too. I've hiked the Superstitions and there's days where the air feels thick even when it's not that hot, and you sweat way more than the temperature alone would tell you. The forecast might say 95 but if it's monsoon season with high dew points, you're losing water twice as fast as a dry 105 degree day. That liter per hour rule is solid but it can still fall short if you're not factoring in the sweat factor on those muggy afternoons. How many people actually check humidity before heading out or is it just me?