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Kousa Dogwood leaves turning yellow

16 years ago

I had two new kousa dogwoods (6-8 ft) planted about six weeks ago. The nursery put root tone and peat moss in the planting hole. I've been watering heavily them 2x per week and after I noticed the leaves turning yellow on one, I gave them a drink with Miracle Gro (which always seems to solve that problem for the crabapple planted near them).

They are on a slight slope, so no pooling water, and the yellowing one is higher than the other.

The leaves turn yellow, then the end tip of the leaf turns brown. Looks almost like a rot of some kind, but I can't see how they could be overwatered on a slope in blistering sunshine all day (we've had no real rain for ages). They are planted near another Kousa dogwood I planted myself a few years ago--it was bare root and survived all by itself with virtually no help from me in the form of fertilizer or even water, so I know these plants can grow there.

Any ideas what's wrong or what I should do?

Thanks for any input,

Jen

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Comment (1)

Carol_Ann
16 years ago
If the nursery planted them, they should have come with some kind of guarantee, so you might want to contact them and see what they say.

How severe is the problem? It could just be transplant shock -- if it's not too many leaves and it's not continuing to spread, it's probably ok.

Overwatering doesn't sound too likely but it depends on your soil, the weather, and the plants -- make sure the soil is nearly dry (not just on the surface, but down a few inches) before you water -- if you're watering heavily and the soil doesn't have a chance to dry out, that would start to adversely affect the plants. I wouldn't put any fertilizer on them at this point; they aren't likely to need it while they're establishing new roots.

Again, I'd contact the nursery and talk with them... and maybe others will have other thoughts.

They're beautiful trees -- good luck!
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one should always presume.. they get healthy plants from dealers ... thats kinda the whole point of plant inspectors etc ... you planted it less than 2 weeks ago .. the ONLY thing it could be is.. transplant shock .. could be sunburn associated with the shock .. you and your neighbor have been busy if he cut the tree down in the last two weeks ... whats your base soil ... does it really drain all that rain??.. did you amend the hole with a lot of peat product??? whats the kite string for .. the neighbor on the other side??? .. lol.. that is a shipping stake.. not a proper tree stake ... pic of the whole if you want help with that ... i wouldnt be overly concerned about some leaf coloration.. i would simply make sure it is PROPERLY watered for this and next year ... i dont know if i would move it.. how many hours of sun does it get.. and at what hours of the day?? ken
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Dear Luv, Your situation is rather different from Jannabeen's situation. Janna's tree was likely suffering from transplant shock. Your tree was already established when it suddenly displayed these symptoms. If the tree was planted in an ideal location, if it was well watered, suffered no injuries from lawnmowering nor from fertilizing (root burns) - then you'd have to investigate whether the cause could be fungal or a pest. Flowering dogwoods are particularly susceptible to a hosts of diseases and pests and any of these things could kill your tree. Here's a link to an informative website. It provides both description of the diseases, symptoms and treatment. Having said all these, I am not experienced with dogwoods but I am considering adding a pagoda dogwood to my backyard landscaping. Good luck on your tree. http://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheets/HGIC1010.htm Ianna
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