Actually, I have done this exact thing, starting with a much smaller 1 year old Kousa Dogwood seedling. Although its tendency was to grow in a multi-trunked habit, I trained it to grow with a single trunk. It was a painstaking process, pruning carefully over 5 or 6 years, and removing no more than 10% of the total wood on the small tree each year. So for example, I didn't remove an entire lower branch at one time, but headed it back by about 1/3 each year over 3 years. Once a tree gets considerably larger and its roots get established, you can remove more wood. I even transplanted it to a different spot around year 4. It is a very pretty and healthy specimen. The tree had its first blooms during year 7!

Thanks everyone for your input - we ended up planting in full sun given that many around the neighborhood have done the same and their trees are thriving⦠the Kousa is still struggling a bit but I think it's perhaps getting too much water since the new irrigation system was planned to overspray the beds and we have put down new sod so in this heat the sprinklers are on 3 times a dayâ¦I expect that once we cut down the watering schedule on the sod the Kousa might respond better though it's not dead yet!

Ha -- I guess I should be more concerned about the tree floating away rather than drying out. Lord, I am sick of this rain. I do plan to get it in the ground this weekend. It is balled and burlapped. It arrived yesterday and was there when I got home. It was lying on its side in the yard! I propped it up against a stake. The root ball is truly a ball and I can see how it would roll over. So, I won't have to water at all this weekend. In fact I will be out digging in a storm, I'm sure. At least it is easier to dig wet dirt than when it's dry and hard as concrete. The nursery gave me very specific planting instructions, which I plan to follow. It's such a cute tree.

was there any cold event back at planting time ... if minor.. it could have had a slight impact that is just now showing.. plus what they said ... as long as it has green leaves.. it is not time to give up ... i would remove the tag and nail it to the garage wall or some such.. might whip around in wind and do some damage ... i presume you want to keep it for warranty reasons ... ken check this out ... proper watering.. dealing with clay soil.. timing.. etc ... : https://sites.google.com/site/tnarboretum/Home/planting-a-tree-or-shrub