Japanese maples are extremely susceptible to late freezes and often die. I have a friend who owns a fine nursery near me who lost two ten year old Japanese maples in his own garden. After the great freeze, they started to die back from the tips.

laceyvail: sounds like my tree is toast. I guess since I can't afford to replace it right now, I will water it and see what happens (if anything) for awhile.

I would wait to see where, if at all, it starts to leaf out, and then take off the dead stuff above that. Do so carefully, to avoid damaging any new growth.

Check to see where the graft/joint is. If you only get growth from below that, scrap the tree - while the roots are some variety of maple, it probably won't be as nice in form, leaf or color as the grafted top was/will be. If the sprouts are from above the graft, it's up to you if you want to nurse it along and see what sort of shape it turns out. Some judicious pruning may be necesary later in the summer to make sure it won't end up too badly shaped.

Don't overwater it. Since it looks to be on a slope, it's probably not a problem, but maples don't like soggy roots. If it lives, I would expand the mulch circle as well - out about 3' if you can manage it - no deeper than 4", no mulch in the 2-4" next to the trunk. Spreading 4-6 sheets of black-ink newspaper or flattened cardboard under the mulch will smother the grass for you. Just be sure to cover all the edges, as the exposed paper can wick moisture from the soil, which is NOT what is wanted!

If you have NO new leaves by early June, I would have to say the tree is probably dead. That Easter Weekend freeze did in a lot of plants, all over the east, midwest and southeast.

It occurred to me last night I bought this tree at Lowes and guess what?!?! -- They have a 1-year guarantee on ALL plants. So I woke up early this morning, dug it up, popped it in the original pot (still had it thankfully), luckily found the receipt (very lucky as I didn't have to spend more than 2 minutes looking) and off to Lowes I went! They only wanted to refund the $24.50 I had paid (on fall clearance), but I argued that wouldn't afford a replacement, equivalent tree. The service desk woman had me to talk to the garden manager who tried the same explanation until I told them they were not abiding by their policy. There was a 4 second pause and finally he agreed to a price override on a new tree! So Japanese Maple #2 is now living out front all bloomed-out with leaves and happy as can be! Lowes will definitely get my future business!

And thanks for the tips and suggestions. I have a second chance if mother nature doesn't mess it up! How often should I water the new tree?

For the first 2-3 weeks, water every few days, if it doesn't rain, and especially if it's very hot or windy. Over that period, gradually slow the frequency and taper off to once a week, watering slowly so it gets deeply into the ground - you want the equivalent of an inch of rain per week. As the tree roots begin to grow out from the present root ball, be sure that you water more. If it rains, adjust the amount you water accordingly. Sticking your finger, or a pointed section of dowel, down into the soil will tell you if the top couple of inches are dry. If they are damp, wait and check the next day. If they are dry, water slowly - the water needs to get to the bottom of the root ball. Keep up the watering until the ground freezes, and do so again in the spring if there are prolonged dry spells. If you irrigate your lawn, that may or may not be enough water for the JM, so keep checking the soil.

I would mulch a wider area than your top photo shows for the "old" tree, going out in an area 4-6' across, no more than 4" deep, and with no mulch in the 2-4" next to the trunk.

It's great you remembered the guarantee, were able to find the receipt, and were able to get what you want. Kudos to you!