I have a problem with a dogwood tree in my landscaping and need some good advice. ?

Question

I had a dogwood tree off of my patio in the landscaping and half of it was dead. The nursery recently replaced it with a new tree, the end of July. It looked very good for about a week and then: This tree looks like one in the late fall. The leaves are all brown but still on the tree. Has it gone dormant early or is it DEAD? My wife even asked the nursery if it was ok for them to plant it in this hot weather we are having or wait until fall. They said it was ok to plant it in the heat.

I live in Illinois. I believe we will contact the nursery again and tell them what happened. We were told to water it well and then after a week give it a little more water and it should be ok. Sure looks dead to me but maybe it will come back next year?

Thank you for your kind advice.

Answer 1

Water,Water,Water.... And add mulch to help hold in the water... How much water you give it >?????  it will need a lot to get it going.. because it may be in shock because of the heat and soil conditions as well! but wait till next spring and see what happens,,,, But until then ...... >>> WATER , WATER, WATER.......

Answer 2

the tree is dead... get a new one....

all brown leaves on the tree at this point means it's not able to get food to help it grow roots... the tree is dying.... that nursery should have given you a raincheck and let you get a new tree in cooler weather... it's not much of a nursery, in my book!....

a newly planted tree needs consistently moist soil, which it will NOT get by watering it when you plant it and then waiting a week and giving it 'a little more water'.....

read here before you plant another tree....all four pages...

http://home.ivillage.com/gardening/lands...

good info here, too...

http://www.dogwood-tree.com/1-dogwood-ca...

Answer 3

Keep watering it in the morning everyday.   Make sure you have a thick layer of mulch on the ground around it to keep it moist.   You can see if the tree is dead by snapping off or bending a very small limb.   If it bends and you see a green color inside then it is alive.   If it just snaps off and it is brown and/or gray in the middle then it is dead.   Your tree is in shock and if you keep watering it, next year you should be fine.   After about a month you can stop watering.   Just water with a trickle of a hose for about 30 minutes a day at the base of the tree.   If the tree is dead then have it replaced, but do the planting your self.   I have planted many dogwoods in the heat of the summer.   The key is to wet the soil around the roots of the tree, but make sure the soil does not come off of the roots    You can do this by keeping the tree in its container while watering the soil very well.   Then dig a hole twice the size of the container and water the hole very well so it fills up.   Wait until the water drains then put your tree in the hole and cover it up with wet soil.   Then water it in to get rid of any air pockets.   Then cover with mulch and water it once a day for 30 minutes on a slow trickle for a month.   Be careful not to plant the tree any deeper than where the soil is in the pot.   You don't want to choke the tree by planting it too deep.   Also Dogwoods like filtered shade.   If the area where the dogwood is located is in full sun then you may want to plant a different type of tree that likes full sun.   Dogwoods are fickle.   They either love the place where they are planted or they don't.   Good luck.