The main reason kousas are recommended over cornus florida is because they are less prone to disease. Dogwoods are a bit problematic. It always seems to be something with them. I don't think kousas look "great" in full sun. As for why pears are a bad idea, here are some reasons why. 1.) They are environmentally unfriendly as they are an invasive species that are taking over native forest including dogwoods (especially dogwoods!) and choking them out with thickets. 2.) They are weak wooded and have narrow crotch angles and break apart in storms. But they will get very big first creating an expensive tree surgeon service call. 2.5) They are short lived. 3.) The blooms smell bad. 4.) The blooms are short. 5.) The leaves drop very late in the season requiring second cleanup. 6.) Surface roots. Big ones. And they are numerous. 7.) Dense shade = no turf, moss, possibly unwanted perennial moisture, shrooms etc. 8.) The people that still grow these don't deserve one red cent. 9.) Partridges 10.) McFlora... yawn. Serviceberrys , crab apples, red maple and cherries are commonly suggested for full sun sites where flowering trees are desired as substitutes for callery pears. None of those are perfect either the small flowering trees in general are not the longest lived in the bunch but anything is better than a 40 foot tree that was planted 5 years prior that literally explodes in a seemingly innocent storm and lands on property or persons requiring thousands in cleanup or insurance deductibles, wrongful death lawsuits etc.

what zone are you... and is there any micro climate?? is it a native.. or a named variety???? is it hyperfertized in any way .... like out in the lawn where you add bag after bag of grass food and chemicals ... contact your county Ag office.. or soil conservation office.. on how to get a soil test done for about $10 ken

The B&B'ed rootball seems rather sandy to me, but it is fairly hard as well, so I've been doing to finger test to the first knuckle, and the rootball has been in fact dry. As for watering, I have just switched my method of watering. I am now placing gallon jugs with a small hole over the rootball for the rootball watering, and then keeping the surrounding soil moist. I did the same thing last year on another tree that I planted very late, and that tree is still with us and healthy today. And in fact our Kousa dogwood was planted late as well (but not nearly as late as last years tree). The Kousa planting was late replacement due to being a replacement for 3-4' dog mauled Japanese maple to less than 1', after the Japanese Maple had suffered a late freeze, and was already struggling before the dog maul. But the this later planting ensured that the Kousa got to experience the joys of NWArkansas sudden change of seasons from just above freezing on several nights in the first ten days of May, to rather summer-like now in less than a week. The has also been allot more wind than is normal for months. So I'm sure the weather has slowed it down some as well. Good news is that it seems to be coping, but I know there are stressors, and so I was thinking energy budget for the tree, and maximizing the trees ability to prosper.

The common issue is chronic drying of the original root-balls due to textural differences between them and existing soils on planting sites, with amending of planting hole back-fills adding a third area of texture to the equation rather than producing an improved condition for plant establishment. When nursery grown plants are re-planted into soils that have a greater attraction for water than the field soils or potting media they were produced in copious watering may be required just to maintain a minimum of moisture inside inside the original root mass or ball, until enough rooting out has occurred. Burlapped stock that has become dried out during the time it was between the grower's field and the final planting site may have to be plunged in (clean) water before re-planting in order to get the often fine-textured, clay-like field soil to re-wet. Even then field soil root-balls may gradually dry out after planting due to textural differences between them and soils on final planting sites. I had a field grown Kousa dwindle over a period of years after planting and eventually fail, despite periodic soakings during dry weather. When I dug it up the original field soil root-ball was dry inside, and there had not been much rooting out into the surrounding soil. This watering issue is one of the reasons why bare-rooting of woody plants at planting time has started to become recommended as standard practice. Of course, plants so treated may wilt or even defoliate (unless planted when dormant, in the case of deciduous kinds) - but will probably most of the time recover and go on to develop normally. Planting at the preferred time (for cold hardy, burlapped or containerized stock) in fall also makes bare-rooting less traumatic appearing, and is the preferred time anyway - (other than winter in Zone 6 and below) spring is actually the worst time to plant. And of course since the plant shown here is a white variegated form it might be having a problem with sun burning*, that would occur whether the roots were being kept moist at all times or not. Otherwise the problem with your plant might actually be something like a fungal infestation. Maybe you can take samples to a nearby USDA Extension office and get them to tell you what appears to be happening. *Cappiello, Shadow, Dogwoods (2005, Timber Press, Portland/Cambridge) report that 'Wolf Eyes' holds up well under the searing sun of a Kentucky summer but then also say it has worked well in heavy shade