My suspicion is a water deficiency but I did not want to point ppl to that decision. It gets some serious hose time every 3 or 4 days w/o rain. That poor subdivision layout drainage control mound it is on appears to be half super compacted subsoil and half mulch. Its quite interesting. At the beginning of the summer it had a day with droopy leaves which made me think it needs more water than most things I plant. So that leaf damage is typical of Cornus florida drought stress? I didn't even see it on my established ones in 2012 when we had a real hot summer and drought.

Thanks, and sorry about the pics. The bugs I can see aren’t spined or spiny oak borers which isn’t to say they’re not in there wreaking havoc. Unfortunately I’ve misplaced my insect guide book.

You can safely compost them if the pile gets hot enough, i personally wouldn't compost them if cold composting (building up the pile slowly over time rather than creating a large pile all at once). it could be far worse or the disease might progress sooner in the season if you provide the spores a safe place to overwinter.. It's true that if your plants are prone to getting dieases, almost count on it the following year.. The key to controlling plant diseases is to apply fungicides before disease onset. start spraying as soon as transplanting, or shortly after, and apply weekly, even if there are no signs of the disease. thoroughly spray top and underside of the leaves. You could always grow greens that aren't susceptible to PM for composting if you have the room. i let my leafy greens continue to grow even after they bolt and flower, then chuck them in the bin (before they produce seed if its a cold pile).. Milk may work, but there are better options for already infected plants, or as a preventive, one being potassium bicarbonate. Good luck next year! :)

There's always some damage, but it seems more widespread to me this year -- four-lined plant bugs on the caryopteris, something chewing the heck out of my cactus zinnias, who knows what munching on the squash and cukes, explosion of asparagus beetles, and yowza did every ant in the county take up residence on my property? I've never seen so many ants in trees and shrubs. I thought some of my milkweed bit the dust but when I looked closer I noticed green stems had poked through but was chewed off -- all of the stems. I dug them up and potted them, figuring if I get them away from whatever's going after them they'll survive just fine, and then other milkweed had something eating just the tips, probably some sort of borer, so I had to cut those back to below the damage. I think it's just going to be an ongoing battle this year...