I had both, scarified & stratified the seed. It was in the fridge for over a month. A sprout began to come out of the seed. The sprout was about....1 inch in length. Then I placed it in a soil mix (from Miracle Gro) and placed it outside. It sat outside for like a few weeks but nada. Then I finally gave up and decided I'd root around through the pot/planter and it looked like it was all dried up. The funny thing is, I watered it every 2 days so I'm not sure why this happened. Anyways, this time I purchased one of those Jiffy Peat domed planters. Hopefully I'll have better luck with that. :)

you have a lot of expectations for a bare stick stuck in the ground just a few months ago ... what toro said .. a trees roots can be twice the size of the tree you see above .. if you mull that long enough ... you will understand where the work is being done ... ken

Wow! thanks for posting the after photos! It gives me hope...our poplar has been recently topped and I am deeply saddened. Any research I've done about topped trees is negative, yes they might grow back but the life span is shortened also the tree is much more susceptible to disease and insect infestation. I would love an update on your tree. P.S I would cut off the big branches from the side, without them the tree looks alot more natural.

Transplant shock describes a series of stresses a plant may undergo when being physically moved. In nature, growing plants do not move from place to place :-) They adapt and respond to their current environment, both above and below the ground. When that environment is changed - and often rather radically - they respond to the change by being stressed until they can readapt. And the larger and older the plant, the more difficult it may be to readapt and the longer it may take. So when you dig up a plant that has been growing happily and peacefully in one environment and move it somewhere else, chances are very good it is going to react to that disturbance in some way. Even plants that have been grown all their life in a container will still experience some sort of stress/shock when they are taken from the container and planted in the ground - different soils, some inevitable root disturbance, often different lighting characteristics, temperature changes, climate variations, wind exposure and moisture availability, etc. That's a lot of changes a plant needs to adapt to and that can take time. You will lessen the stresses involved in planting and transplanting by removing or reducing those changes as much as possible. That is why transplanting or planting while dormant or not in active growth can result in minimal stress/shock. Plant metabolism while dormant is at its lowest point and all the biological functions are on 'hold', so the plant has time to get used to the new setting before it responds to its seasonal clock and starts to grow. Minimizing these factors during the prime growing season - like right now - is much harder to do. Root issues have already been addressed by other responders.....in most cases, you are dealing with a compromised root system that needs sufficient time to re-establish itself and that will be dependent on all the other factors mentioned: age of the plant/amount of root disruption, time of year/growing cycle, soils, moisture availability, climate (heat, humidity), sunlight, wind, etc. If all these changes are not adequately addressed, transplant shock can last an extended period of time resulting in stresses that the plant may not be able to overcome.....it could die! OTOH, if these changes are taken into consideration and properly addressed as much as possible, then the transplant shock may be minimal or very short term. FWIW, planting a decent sized tree of any variety now in Utah is going to present all of these factors in abundance so the chances of transplant shock - and even severe transplant shock - is extremely likely. It would be a bit surprising for a tree to respond positively to this process at all this season and you might not see any signs of recovery until the next growing season. And unless you are extremely careful, you may not see any sign of recovery at all and the tree could die.