It's been SO DRY this summer - over 9" below normal rainfall and my dogwoods along our woods are all turning brown! They had just started to bud out then got hit by a hard freeze this spring plus the drought. Are they dead? All the other trees are definitely stressed but why the dogwoods?
Possibly not dead, but you won't know until next year. It's quite possible that the environmental conditions were just right this spring (and throughout the year) to prevent leafing out. Often, trees are resilient enough to withstand lack of leaves for a year (e.g., massive defoliation from armyworm caterpillars).
