My maple is in full leaf, so if that's an indication, things don't bode well for your maple. If it hasn't even started to bud, it is probably dead. If you want to be extra careful, you can try bending a twig on it. If it's alive, it'll bend, but if it's dead, it'll be pretty brittle and break.

Thanks for the help. I will certainly try that before taking it out. Yes all our other trees in the yard and all over the area are green and beautiful and have been for a good month.

Mary,

I had two trees that didn't leaf out until June after I planted them the previous September. I'd keep waiting if I were you. Is this a tree that you recently planted, like last year? The first winter/spring can be unpredictable with new trees. If you scrape the bark on a branch and see green underneath, it's still alive.