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Georgia Gardener

3 Year Old Kousa Dogwood Died???

18 years ago

My 3 1/2 year old Kousa Dogwood (it's older than that, but that is when I planted it and it was about 5' tall then)died this spring or winter. It was flourishing as far as I can tell and then it didn't bloom this year and didn't put on leaves and it's dead? It actually looks like it has little buds all over it but it's dead. This is so frustrating, I paid for a shrub and tree service last year for the first time in my life (I usually only have yard service) and my tree dies. I will be digging it up and want to replant maybe a Yoshino Cherry that will grow fast. Other than looking at the roots to see any obvious cause of distress to the roots, what would kill a perfectly healthy Kousa Dogwood?

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Comments (4)

girlgroupgirl
18 years ago
Lucy, I had a spot that two trees were planted and died. I had a hawthorn and then a very hard to find tree. DEAD as doornails, just as you describe. I couldn't figure out what was wrong until I found tiny holes at the bottom with some sap running out. SOmething had drilled in there.
So I ended up planting a shrub, and it's done fine. Go figure!

GGG
Tricia
18 years ago
I have a dogwood that is in the process of dieing also. Don't know why? The left side died and now the right side is starting to go brown.

My Gingko tree that I planted 2 or 3 years ago is also trying to die - weirdly. its like every other branch alternating sides did not leaf out this year. Can't figure that one either. I suspect he will be replaced too.
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I have a kousa 'Samaritan' that's very young & hasn't flowered yet. But, I've noticed around Mystic that the kousas are not blooming as heavily as the past two seasons. In 2005 & 2006, the dogwoods here were loaded with blooms...almost covering any green of the leaves. This year, the trees around are, maybe being generous, about a quarter covered with flowers. That's now 3 northeast locations reporting in with less than stellar kousa performances. Tricia
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On the subject of pink kousas, I have always thought they looked unappealing, to put it mildly. However when I visited Issima Plant Works and Sakonnet Garden in June of 2022, I couldn't believe how gorgeous the pink kousas along the coast of Rhode Island looked. I don't know what cultivars were involved but clearly they were 1) more commonly planted up there and 2)looked better in climates that stay 'chilly', by eastern US standards, in early summer...than they do anywhere around the mid-Atlantic. Of course this doesn't jibe with GG's account of not liking them in the PNW, but, first of all to each his or her own, second of all, there could be other temp, rainfall, or even soil differences at play. Maybe the PNW is too chilly, we're too warm, and coastal RI is just right? Around here all kousas seem to have their sepals quickly 'melt' from the June heat, it perhaps makes the pink ones uglier as they develop brownish off colors.
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Bumblebeez SC Zone 7
18 years ago
I planted a celestial dogwood this spring that has slowly died. I'm glad I kept the receipt. I have no idea why...sometimes they die ...sometimes they live. In my yard, this seems too particularly apply to trees.
And I plant my trees with very careful attention. Cutting the pot off and sliding the tree into the hole... the right type of planting hole and hopefully the ideal site.
cactusfreak
18 years ago
Are you watering the dogwoods faithfully every week, more often if very dry, for a whole year? Even in the winter?
If not that could lead to a slow death.

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