I recieved the tree yesterday

It should leaf out again. Maples have an ability to refoliate after some stressor that may cause them to lose their leaves. Don't over water but also do not allow to dry out completely. I'd leave it in its current container until you see some recovery and out of direct sun as well.

I agree with the above comment. I would also add to give the bark a little scratch every so often and make sure its still green and alive.

get it out of the sun.. and protect from wind .. and dont water it again until the pot is near dry ...

it might take a month for it to rebud and releaf.. drowning it in the meantime wont help anything ...

in a perfect world.. it would have been shipped dormant .. to avoid all this .. i would have discussed such with seller.. in advance.. and would put them on notice that they did not fulfill the contract ...

i have no clue if you insisted on such ... so i dont know if you have any warranty claim ...

ken

Chalk maples have a tendency to retain their old foliage through winter. It may well be that some of what you are seeing with respect to dried/dead leaves is just last season's growth......it's hard to tell from the photos what may be new or what is old :-)

A close up of the stems to see if any buds are present would help. The presence of viable buds (firm; not dried, brown and crumby) would pretty much guarantee the tree will survive with proper care.

yea these leaves were new growth from earlier back in march. as soon asitook the tree out of the box they new growth dried up. No worries, though, small buds started popping up around the tree after a week, and hopefully leaves come out soon.

I see the new buds, Don't overwater it tho, just keep moist & sheltered and shaded for now.

a year and a half later, doing great, will plant in the ground this fall

A tree in a pot for that long is prb'ly badly rootbound.

Tree went dormant very early, it isnt dead, the twigs are still green. It was so hot these two months.. on top of that i didnt get the chance to water it at all

" It was so hot these two months.. on top of that i didnt get the chance to water it at all "

That is pretty much the kiss of death for any maple grown in a container!! And with high heat, I'd say it was even a guarantee! My collection of containerized maples - most in much larger containers and not subject to even moderately high temps - require a thorough watering every other day. Not watering them for two weeks, let alone two months, would ensure their demise. I suspect yours will follow suit.

Green twigs or under the bark is not a confirmation of viability. It takes time for the woody tissue to lose its moisture so remaining 'green' is not an indication that it is alive. And the dried and shriveled foliage is not 'early dormancy', which is triggered by conditions far removed from heat and lack of water but far more likely to be a sign that your tree is toast from a combination of heat and drought.

Why did you not water during this period?

Sadly my parents are divorced and because of joint custody i have to constantly move back and forth between homes.. I had to stay with my mom for around 2 weeks since my dad was out traveling for business. And coincidentally there was a brutal heatwave with low humidity. This was the only tree that was severely affected out of all the maples, because of the small pot. I also did overfertilize the week before i left making everything much worse

Your best bet, considering your circumstances, would be to plant the tree in the ground, or at the very least, to give it a much larger container. Can you set up automatic watering of some kind? Even sitting the pot in a container of water, putting in a wick or simply asking someone to water for you while you're away would help, just as people do when they go away on vacation.

After i came back i did set up automatic drip irrigation