Question
We are in Richmond, Virginia.  My husband & I planted 4 silver and 2 red maples, they were ball-roots & only 2 of the silver maples have budded.  We planted them over a month ago when they were all dormant.  How long should we give the other 4 trees before giving up on them.  Not a leaf in site.  These are all over 10 feet tall, and the 2 smallest ones are the ones budding out.  We planted them in holes 2x as wide and plenty deep, and mulched and watered weekly until the April rains came.

Answer
To find out if the trees are alive--take a small knife and scrpe a small amout of bark off a brnch starting near the tip. If the color under the bark is green the branch is a live at this point. If the color is brown (not green) the branch is dead at this point--if brown keep going down the branch scraping every once in a while until you find green. Prune the dead off and it should leaf out. If you have no green than the tree is dead. Most nurseries
guarantee their trees for a year so I would contact the nursery you bought it from and get a replacement.