Pagoda Dogwood with wilted leaves and holes

12 years ago

I have a beautiful pagoda dogwood nearly 10 feet tall in rich mesic soil. Last Fall about a quarter of the bark of a main trunk was rubbed off by a deer. This Spring the tree leafed out except for a few branches on the top and bottom which I attributed to the bark damage. The tree, however, appeared very healthy and the new leaves were forming. This AM I inspect the tree only to find that the majority of the leaves have smooth holes in the leaf interiors. Many of the leaves are wilting. There are no signs of insects or discoloration. Water is not an issue. I don't know whether to prune or to leave things be. I'm hoping the tree is mature and strong enough to survive. Any thoughts?

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Comments (8)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
12 years ago
hi.. welcome to GW ...

where are you ...

what has your spring weather been like ...

any chance at a picture????

ken
Dan _Staley (5b Sunset 2B AHS 7)
12 years ago
Any thoughts?

My thoughts are the tree probably didn't like the deer rubbing. Nothing else possible with info provided.

Dan
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bboy -- I really appreciate your help. I don't meant to sound like an idiot, but the truth is that this is the first house I have ever owned and therefore it is my first experience with gardens, lawns, and trees. I grew up in Tennessee where the dogwood is so popular and I really hope this tree lives. I am trying to read and learn all I can, but I am befuddled by the wilted leaves. When I looked at the roots of the tree this morning, I dug up the top dirt then stuck my finger deeper into the middle of the roots (I don't really know how to check inside the original rootball -- it is too dense for me to get my fingers in). The roots are surprisingly close to the surface of the ground, but the dirt around the roots was wet -- not sopping wet, but definitely moist. It rained pretty hard here yesterday, but we have been in a severe drought for months. One thing I failed to mention, the ground here is impossibly hard, red clay. It is a real killer to dig a hole in my yard. My husband had to come help me and he dug a giant hole for this dogwood and filled it with good soil, but there is a wall of red clay around the area we created. I fear that the red clay is acting like a bowl and holding the water around the roots. I am wondering if I should watch the tree for a few weeks -- checking the soil for the need for water (rather than watering on schedule) and if the tree starts to look worse -- like it is dying, I can dig it up and make an even bigger hole for it and put rocks and perlite to help with drainage. It sounds like the leaves wilting is not necessarily something to worry about (if it is common for Dogwoods to fold up their leaves with the onset of hot weather). Again, thank you for your help!
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Prune nothing off the tree. In the future, never dig a deciduous tree until after leaf drop. It is extremely stressful on the tree. Pictue the root zone of the tree that extends well beyond the drip line of the tree, now think about decreasing it's ability to uptake water and nutrients by 2/3 but not decreasing the canopy at all. When you dig a tree in the dormant season, there's no canopy to support. Again...PRUNE NOTHING from the tree, all you will be doing is taking away from the trees ability to support itself. You have also fertilized the tree, if you are going to fertilize it with anything, use a low nitrogen fertilizer. My advice would be to add nothing to the soil other than water. Let the miracle gro get diluted with the water and maintain a regular watering cycle. Do not over water the tree either. Worse comes to worse, you may want to invest in some superthrive and add it to the waterings VERY sparingly. From what I can tell, the dogwood was already in trouble before the digging. Water and prayers are the best thing for it at this point. Don't feel bad though, I have a hard time being patient myself and have dug trees prematurely, and they're fine now. Depending on the size of the tree and the age of the tree, you might wind up being just fine.
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brandon7 TN_zone7
12 years ago
Unless you are removing dead branches or something, pruning would probably be counterproductive for a tree suffering from whatever yours is suffering from. Need more info. Good pictures are frequently helpful.
botann
12 years ago
A zone or location is needed when asking for advice.
Period. I don't respond unless given.
Mike
Dan _Staley (5b Sunset 2B AHS 7)
12 years ago
Mike, its a noob with likely the exact same question on 6 plant chat boards.

Dan
questinia
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks all! I am new here. I will definitely post a picture later today. I am in Northwest Ct. Spring has been perfect for gardening: lots of rain and cool temps 55-65. Everything is lush. It's quite distressing since the tree has been thriving and seemed to not be deterred by the deer rub as it had vigorous new growth. A lot of snow, I figured may have protected the damaged bark.

Perhaps there is water loss from the leaf incisions? Where there are no holes in the leaves, the leaves are fine.

I may be a noob, but this is the first and only place I have asked this question.
debbiefromdurham
12 years ago
I am in coastal New Hampshire, and have exactly the same problem. I have 2 pagoda dogwoods, 3 years old so still small, about 4 feet. The tree that is at a lower elevation where the soil is slightly more moist has terrible drooping leaves. The other tree has healthy appearing leaves but in the last few days many have developed small holes. We had no issues with deer or other animals, and had snow cover all winter. The spring weather conditions have been similar to CT. I will also try to post photos, but also new to this site and not sure yet how to do that.
Thanks for the help.
whaas_5a
12 years ago
The holes are likely from Aphids. Unless they are perfectly round holes they are leafcutter bees.

Pics would confirm.

Pagoda Dogwood with wilted leaves and holes

Comments (8)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

Dan _Staley (5b Sunset 2B AHS 7)

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debbiefromdurham

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Pagoda Dogwood with wilted leaves and holes

Comments (8)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

Dan _Staley (5b Sunset 2B AHS 7)

Related Discussions

brandon7 TN_zone7

botann

Dan _Staley (5b Sunset 2B AHS 7)

questiniaOriginal Author

debbiefromdurham

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GET HELP

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questinia
Original Author