contorted filbert dying?

Hey all! I was just given a large contorted filbert sprout from my mother-in-law. It was dug up from her yard and transplanted in mine the same day. It has been 3 days and it looks awful. I have watered it every day and the leaves are drying up and dying. Am I going to lose it? What if I cut it back, will that help it?
I know this was the worst time of the year to this.

Cutting it back could help, also rigging up some shade to protect it from the sun until it gets established could help. It's hard to say whether it'll make it or not--a lot will depend on if the roots that came along with it are really sufficient. If it only had a tiny little bit of roots then it doesn't have nearly as good a chance as if it came with a lot of roots.

Also what sort of conditions was it in between her house and yours...were the roots hanging out bare in the back of a pickup truck with the sun beating down on them for hours? Or does she live next door and the roots spent 5 minutes out of the ground in between her yard and yours? I'm sure the reality is somewhere between those two extremes...hopefully if there was much in the way of time between digging it up and replanting it the rootball was wrapped in something to keep it moist.

The root is quite long and has a lot of hair like roots. It was out of the ground for about an hour and half. As soon as I got home I put it in a small swimming pool full of water to soak while I prepared the bed.
It gets shade until about 12-1. Should I find something to cover it a little longer from the sun?
Also do you know how far I should cut it back?
Thanks so much for your help!

I would definitely try to protect it from the afternoon sun--afternoon sun is stronger and hotter. As far as cutting it back, basically what you want is for the size of the top to be proportional to the size of the roots so that the roots aren't trying to supply water for twice as much top growth as they're really able to. Unless you think the proportions are way off though you might try providing afternoon shade for it first--that may be enough.

I also wonder what conditions it was exposed to during that hour and a half that it was out of the ground? If the roots were baking in the sun or exposed to wind in the back of a truck and got really dried out during that time then that could cause problems.

Sounds the plant is in shock.
How big is the plant and how large of a root ball did you dig out?
You could try using some vitamin b1 to help with the transplant shock.

I had the plant in the back of my van on the ride home. It was in the shade before that.
The root ball is about 3 - 3 1/2ft long. The tallest part of it is about 5ft and is supported by a stake.
Where do you get vit B1 for plants? Sorry, that's a new 1 on me... I'm still a newbee with flowers.

Super Thrive is one popular brand, although there's more in it than just Vitamin B1. Some people swear by it for helping with transplants, others haven't seen a difference but it won't do any harm.

Just wanted you to know that we had a bad storm come through this morning and it knocked my filbert over. When I stood it back up and inspected it I saw that it has new sprouts coming on at the base of all the old leaves! I am so happy! I guess it was in shock and still may be. I am really hoping that getting knocked over didn't hurt it.
Thank you for all the info you have given me, and I am going to go look for super thrive. It really wants to live!

I don't know if it helps in your case but, when I do any transplants I always put them in pots first till they get over the shock of being lifted from parent or out the soil they have been in, this way I have better control over shade, full sun or whatever, it also gives me a chance to transplant it where I think it did best while in the pot, also gives the chance to look up any info regarding the plants needs before planting it and while all this is going on, the plant is being cared for in a pot suitable for it's size and can remain in the pot for a good while so long as you look after it.

Remember your plant was taken out the soil where it was happy, then the roots were exposed to air and dry heat, all this before you re-planted it, so your plant is in shock and will take anything from a few days to a few weeks to get over this, it now needs TLC for a while to help it recover and it may be next spring when new growth starts before you see the plant happy and settled so be patient and give the plant a mulch in autumn, a feed in spring and meanwhile continue watering. best of luck. WeeNel.

If you're seeing some new growth start that's definitely a good sign! When it got knocked over, did the roots pop out of the ground again? If so then you may see it go through some stress again if you get hot/sunny weather but hopefully it should pull through.

Just a small section of the root came out. I expect the poor thing to have a problem or 2 for a while. All I know to do is to watch over it like a newborn and give it TLC.
Thanks ;-)