We planted several new trees in the fall to our yard in 2007. We watered and fertilized and were very careful to attend to them. One of the trees is a linden (silver leaf) that was very mature around an 8" trunk. It seemed to take the transplant well and is still supple branched but it has yet to produce leaves this year. A few small buds have appeared but don't seem to be maturing. Can this be a frost related stall? Is there anything we can do to help the tree. We also have a curly willow that only seems to be coming back on the interior branches. I hate to gut off three feet in pruning but I am wondering if it has any special needs we don't know of? Thanks for being a great resource!

Greetings Stacie:

Forest & Tree Health questions are without a doubt the most difficult to answer simply because an on-site evaluation and assessment is almost always required.

Based on your observations, as long as the branches and buds appear to be alive (i.e., if you scratch them and they are still green) then there still is a chance your tree will leaf out. Moreover, I'm not an advocate of fertilizing newly planted trees as fertilization is not warranted the first 2-3 years.

So, what should you do? My suggestion for you is to contact a local certified arborist for an on-site visit (check yellow pages or Illinois Arborist Association online).

Sorry I couldn't help more, but these questions really need to be answered by a professional who can observe the tree(s) in person.

Best of luck!