Planted two of these last year and were okay but they both look dead now will they come at a later date or have I lost them for good, had one years ago at another property and it was great came every year
scratch the bark low down. if its green underneath, then its still alive, if creamy brown then dead. The other thing to do is to go out in the cool of the evening and feel the stems and trunk. Live parts feel cold and dead parts feel like the ambient temperature.
Mine is flowering at the moment, although I think different varieties do flower at slightly different times. Woofgangs advise is exactly what I do if I'm unsure and it's how I discovered one of my Acers was finally dead after a couple of years of ill health.