Question
I recently received a Tulip Poplar tree that i ordered from the Arbor Day Foundation. It came as a dormant, bare root tree that was about 3ft tall. It came well packaged, the roots were covered with gel and then wrapped in water soaked paper, which i carefully removed and washed off. It was delivered via USPS on May 10, 2012. My location is New Haven, Missouri. Per the directions that came with the tree, I soaked the roots in a bucket of water for about 4 hours then planted the tree the same day it arrived. I dug the hole and planted it in the middle of the yard with nothing around it where it would get full sun. The hole was about 20 inches across and 10 inches deep. I was careful to make sure the bulge above the roots was right at ground level. I also mixed in about half a cup of 10-10-10 slow release fertilizer with the soil that i filled in the hole (i realize now after some research that i probably shouldn't have used any fertilizer). I don't know much about soil but i would say that it was clay like. It sticks together in large clumps. I broke it up the best i could before placing it back in the hole. I then put down mulch around the tree in about a 3 foot diameter circle and made sure the mulch didn't touch the trunk. It was well watered right after planting and has been watered 3 times since then because it hasn't rained hardly at all since it was planted.

It has been 16 days now and the tree shows no signs of budding or new growth. How long should it take to see buds or new growth? If it has already been too long, what should i do? How can i check to see if the tree is ok? And basically how should i proceed from here.

Answer
Sounds like you have done almost everything correct. The heavy clay can be a problem. Sometimes there are air spaces and the roots could dry out. The best thing would have been to add potting soil to the hole instead of the clay. But you did fine. I would try to off set the possibility of air spaces by watering. Place a pan under the tree and turn the sprinkler on and when the pan has 1 inch of water in it stop. Do this every third day for a couple of weeks then once a week if it does not rain.

You can check the tree to see if it is still alive by scrapping a small bit of bark off near the top of the tree. IF the color is green under the bark the tree is still alive and will leaf out. IF the color is brown and the twigs are not flexible the tree top is dead. In this case just wait and see if the tree will bud out further down the trunk. I would guess that the Arbor Foundation guarantees their trees if they are properly planted which yours was. So if it does not leaf out in a couple of weeks I would contact them for a new one. Good Luck!