How much water have you been applying? How wet were the root balls when they were planted? Did you water WELL when you planted them? Did they already have leaves on when they came from the nursery, in which case they need more water than bare trees? Trees need, at a minimum, the equivalent of an inch of rain per week - once they are perked up, you can water well when you do and cut back to once a week - but if the leaves are wilted in the mornings, or don't perk back up after it cools off in the evening, then you need to water - the roots need to grow larger to easily sustain a lot of leaves - wilting leaves in the afternoon are a normal reaction to the heat of the day and are a problem only if they continue beyond a few hours.

It sounds to me as though you haven't been watering deeply enough. You need to water according to how dry the root ball is, not according to a schedule, which means that you need to stick a finger in the soil in or right next to the root ball down to your second knuckle - or use a pointed dowel to the same depth - and water if it is dry at your finger tip. If it is still moist, then you can wait, recheck another day and water when dry. You want to water to the bottom of the root ball, and keep it moist there - since I don't know your soil, nor the weather you have been having, I can't say how often. But, you need a deep, slow watering, so either get a section of soaker hose, or set your hose end on trickle, and let it run for a while, enough to get to the depth of the hole you dug.

When first planted, trees may need to be watered daily, or may be able to go for several days between waterings, but a schedule won't tell you if it's OK or not, only checking will.

Mulching will help - although you then need to check the soil under the mulch for moisture. Mulch as widely as you can - at least out to the drip-line - no deeper than 4", and put no mulch in the couple of inches next to the trunk.

I added a picture so you can see what I am talking about. As far as I can tell, the soil is pretty wet. I do long soakings. And I have about a 2' layer of mulch as well. All the leaves you see in the image were already on it. I do see a few new leaves, but not much. Thanks for any help...

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:344828}}

So all that browning and shriveling is normal... Good to know, and yes, I made sure to pat down the soil well.

Thanks

Seems ok to me as well. Those leaves that are shriveling were probably the first to come out post planting...so they may have gone into shock. Look at that new flush of growth coming out now though. Seems to be healthy. Keep and eye on that and see how they do?! Good luck!

Not okay at all. Notice the edges of the leaves.

The tree is hort of water in the *original* rootball. And that can be so even if the surrounding soil is wet.

How do I make sure the original root ball gets water..?

I'm having the same problem. We planted our Pink dogwood about a week ago. We notice right away the wilted and curled leaves. I haven't checked the moisture around the ball yet,but will do that immediately. Is there a certain type of fertilizer that should be used? and when is the best time to fertilize?

No fertilizer with or right after planting is the best. After a couple of months a light fertilizer application, low in nitrogen, might be good - it all depends on your soil composition. Mostly for the first year in the ground, trees grow roots, which they do best under low-nitrogen conditions.

If you haven't had a soil test done, now might be a good idea, so you know what you are working with. Most soil tests come back low in nitrogen, so don't go crazy adding N if that's what your test results say - it's a function of the test and not an actual picture of your soil.

Both of my dogwoods have druppy leaves. I live in NC Piedmont. What should I do?

Start a new thread with pictures and any pertinent climate/culture facts.

tj

I've overwatered my dogwood tree!!!! I planted it in August of 2016. Full sun. Watered it daily and still have. Leaves are curled up and are light green. Can I save it? What should I do? Will it die? I will stop watering but once a week. It's been 80 degrees out daily for several weeks. Help