We planted a very rootbound honey locust tree about 3 weeks ago. The roots were so wound up that they were hard to pull loose and we cut through them twice and planted it. It has plenty of water but some of the leaflets are turning yellow and falling. I'm worried that because we only cut through the root ball twice before planting that it will continue to be root bound. Should we dig it up and cut through the root ball on the outside more times?

It could be transplant shock. Plants will sometimes drop their leaves to work on getting roots established. If it were mine, I would not stress it more by digging it again. Are only a few dropping or is it whole batches? Have you got a picture your can upload?

Zencat, its only a few leaves here and there and I too thought it might be transplant shock. So you think it will be OK root wise as It grows to maturity?

Expect transplant shock, big time; hopefully (yes hopefully), you've cut through the roots deep enough to cause major damage, and thereby preventing future root strangulation. If you don't have transplant shock, then I really would be worried!

It would have been better if you had cut deeply down the side of the root ball in three different places, rather than two. There would be less chance of missing a root that could girdle in the future. But I wouldn't dig it up just because of that.

Going to echo what Rick said.