In May we planted a pink dogwood on the east side of the house in a fairly sheltered area. It looked very healthy except for a few higher leaves that had turned a bit reddish brown. We thought it could be a bit sun-burned. We followed reliable planting instructions and added bonemeal and if I remember correctly, some compost. NOW, all of the leaves are reddish brown,drooping and some are dry to the point of crispness! At first we decided to water more frequently but the highest leaves are still getting worse. Did we use too much bonemeal? Was the compost a bad idea? Can this tree be saved? HOW.
Timing would suggest it needs to be watered, summer weather startng to come on. Could be some problems with your climate and soil, too: when I was at WSU, in Pullman, south of Spokane the Cornus florida they had on the campus was planted in a little island surrounded by water, inside a courtyard. Bonemeal etc. can be found discussed here. http://www.puyallup.wsu.edu/~Linda Chalker-Scott/Horticultural Myths_files/index.html
Might not look worse than my Japanese maple that I only had room in the back of a pickup on an 80 degree day when we moved it to north Oregon all the way up the state. And amazingly, it's not too bad for all the indirect wind passing through it's leaves. Don't rule out sun if your tree was previously in shaded nursery rows. I lost more than half the leaves on my snowbell the first spring we planted one after it came from shaded nursery rows to increased sun exposure.
Many thanks for your encouraging reply. We shall persevere. None of the leaves have fallen off yet so something is still working. Will let you know what transpires.
