So it is healing then? I'm not really concerned about getting a lot of blossoms, however, I am concerned about the trunk. If the concensus is that it is healing, is there anything I can do to help it along, i.e., wrapping it or something to that effect? I would like to give it a chance, it was costly and I hate to just rip it out and toss it in the pile if it can be saved, but if it can't, then I will probably purchase an Eastern Redbud, I've always loved those trees and really don't want to have to deal with another Dogwood, especially in my area where there's a lot of harsh winters. I believe this is the 4th summer for this tree, it was under warranty for 3 years but I didn't consider bringing it back last summer after the beautiful display it put on last June, it stayed in bloom for 3 weeks. But of course, now that the warranty has expired, the tree isn't happy dancing any longer.....always the way! Thanks again! Linda

bboy, I want to share my Pagoda dogwood experience with you. I have a 5 ft tall of this tree. A friend of mine gave it to me last year. I dug it from her front yard. It was geographically transplanted around May 22. I put it in my backyard which gets sun from 9-10am until 5pm. About August of last year, it wasn't doing well. I saw tons of leaf loss. This year, I only have watered it once and the leaves are all still intact and healthy green. We also didn't get rain for more than 2 weeks. It's been quite hot here as well. It was only last Saturday that we got insane amount of rain. My 8 ft tall ninebark's maroon leaves though started to wilt. I was under the impression that it's drought tolerant. So yeah, I'm very happy with my Pagoda. I noticed though that it's a slow grower.

Cornus Kousa Sunsplash has great, bright foliage all summer. It is my favorite variegated kousa. Very slow growing though. David Image link:

I think it all depends on your growing environment. If you plant these ahrubs/trees in a protected area, ie out of direct northerly winds, you'll have more chances of success. I have planted Pagoda dogwood, several of them, over the years. At my house, out in the country, they are subjected to brutal winter condition's. I always have die off of branches that need to be pruned out every year. If I can get one to live through the first winter, it will usually be alright, but suffer from die back every year. For instance, I have one right now that is just forming buds so I can see what parts are alive and what parts are dead and most of it is alive but this particualar shrub is 5 years old this year. Another one planted about 15 feet away only has leaf buds on all the outer branches...all of the inner most branches apparently died this winter so I'll be pruning them all out. That shrub is only 3 years old. I had a third one that died last year and I never replaced it, just didn't have the time to look for one. I do try to buy smaller, more compact plants from the nursery's. They seem to do better for me than ones that are much larger, say 4-5 feet tall already. A big one always dies out in the first winter in my artic circle micro climate. Mine are planted on the northern part of our yard, and thus just get pounded by the winds. When one dies out completely I just go buy another and start again. Sooner or later I figure I'll hit some misfit plants that can survive.