At this point it almost has to be transplant shock. Your kousa is slightly more forgiving than my dogwoods but they can be picky.

To make you feel better, some percentage of transplants are always going to fail. Doing things right or wrong only increases or decreases the number. Not much to do besides keep taking care of it and waiting. How long of a warranty did it come with?

When you water stick your finger into the rootball and see if it is moist or dry. These aren't the most forgiving of trees for overwatering or underwatering.

Curious, did you pull the burlap barrier off from around the roots after you set it in the hole? Any wire there? That is a big transplant. Must have been lots of work.

Thanks for your input toronado. Yes it is a big tree. I had the garden center I ordered from plant this tree, and I'm happy I did because they offer a 1-year warranty. I didn't see them plant the tree, but they did tell me that they always cut the wire around the root ball and pull it back, along with the burlap. If it's transplant shock, I would just expect something like that to manifest itself within the first few weeks of planting - not 6 weeks later. Like I said, the tree looked fantastic up till about 2 weeks ago. I'll definitely do the finger test from here on in to determine when to water.

Thanks again!
bobby

Since its under warranty..insist they replace it! And watch how they plant. Add some compost to the soil before replanting. Then you need to water every day by letting hose trickle for 5 mins in 3 places around the drip line EVERY day! You need to water in newly planted trees for 2 years! If watering is a challenge, you could get a tree watering bag which holds water and slowly seeps into ground.

From what you discribe about your soil and watering......I would say it drowned with too much water....IMO.....

I'm thinking too much water as well. Don't water unless the soil is dry 2-3 inches down. Clay soil often dries out on top while remaining waterlogged below. And when you do water, water deeply, at least an inch of water. The tree watering bags or a soaker hose work well so you don't have to stand there the whole time. You'll have to check soil moisture with your finger now but over time you will get a feel for how much you need to water. No tree needs to be watered everyday. The symptoms of a drowning tree are the same as a dry tree.. either way the roots aren't able to pull in water and nutrients. Get the watering right, and if the tree doesn't come back replace it this fall. Smaller trees are easier to successfully transplant.

see link regarding planting in clay.. as well as watering... just for general in depth knowledge ...

i dont know how 5 minutes of watering.. gets into clay at any depth at all ...

regardless.. you are guessing.. take a hand trowel.. and go dig some 3 to 6 inch holes ... and find out if there is any water in the root mass planting .... or too much.. no one can really tell you.. how to water in your soil ... because we dont know your soil ...

i think its dead ... to uniform brown across the whole plant ... as compared to struggling ... with damaged areas ...

and do understand... with BB plants... we never know.. if they left any usable root.. when it was dug out of the field ...

talk with your seller ... and exercise your warranty ... and try to be there when they pull it out.. to see if its wet or dry ... and try to get a fall planting date ...

if he insists on leaving it be ... and seeing what happens.. tell him you want the warranty extended 3 years ... and hope he is still around in 3 years .... i wouldnt stand for that.. considering what i presume you paid for it ... and it depends on the nurseries reputation... as compared to some builder related tree dude ...

and next time.. go about half size ... the odds go up significantly... as all the various stressors are exponentially reduced ... instant gratification on size.. just complicates the whole process .. and a smaller transplant.. will often.. outgrow the large inside 5 years ....

and once.. when this happened to me... and the seller was a bit piqued, suggesting i failed ...... i asked if he would replace it at half size.. and he did so gladly ... this was long before the WWW and i knew a lot about trees.. watering.. etc ....

keep us posted

ken

ps: and if it is really dry.. you might want to try one of those large water sacks... that trickle water.. they might look stupid... for a year or two... but they can really help ... sorry.. i dont have a better term for them ...

How is your Kousa sited? Dogwoods are understory trees meaning they grow in the shade of larger trees. Planting them in full sun will burn them to a crisp. It is the number one cause of Dogwood failure. The brown, crispy foliage points to this especially since you are in zone 7.

You are watering too much. For some reason, homeowners think plants must be saturated with water at all times. Too much water leads to rotted roots. Lack of roots will cause wilting as there are no roots to take up the water. So, homeowners dump more water on their already over-watered trees making the matter worse. Roots must also have an oxygen exchange at their roots. A wet soil prohibits this.

Add transplant shock to this and it doesn't look good. Trees will often re-leaf after transplant shock but I think siting and over-watering may have been the death knell.

Linda

Linda,
While dogwoods are most competitive and therefore most often found as understory, there are literally thousands planted in full sun here that are fine.

The OP WAY overwatered. Plus dogwoods are very slow to establish in my experience. Then compacted crap in new construction greatly restrict drainage and root penetration.

Arktrees

I'm in 7a and have issues with my Kousa as well. The previous owner planted it so I'm not sure when they did it, but it sits out in the sun from about dawn until 5 or 6... it gets way too much sun and it has caused the leaves to fold and look terrible. The top leaves are also starting to get slightly yellow at the edges from -- I can only assume -- leaf scorch. The shaded leaves look green and lovely.

I've had several branches die completely and I just prune as it happens. I'm sure there will be nothing left eventually due to it's location in my yard.

Not all dogwoods are created equal :-) Kousas are most definitely understory trees, as are our native PNW nuttallii. They are stressed in full sun even up here in the far northern latitudes and will respond to direct summer sun and heat by drooping, curling foliage and early coloring. Why everyone has the idea that these trees look best out in an open full sun location I have no idea but even well established trees can respond to these conditions, let alone new plantings.

And I am going to offer a dissenting vote on the OP's tree -- I believe it got insufficient water, at least initially. 5 minutes of water for a tree that size every other day is simply not enough and even more likely the case if drainage is poor and water doesn't penetrate easily. After 30 years in this business, I can tell you that instances of homeowners overwatering plants in the ground is virtually nonexistent. Unless they are planting in a bog or a highly amended planting hole in clay.

My kousa has been planted between 20 and 25 yrs and is quite large...it no longer suffers from being in the sun...but it sure did when it was a youngster ;(

They appreciate quite a bit of moisture, but as said, it could be either too wet or too dry and would die same way.

I second Ken's proposal of planting smaller trees. A one gallon kousa will be eight feet tall in 5 years....and as Ken said I find smaller establishes better. B&B is a **** POOR way to treat a tree....to just ball out a miniscule segment of their root system and hope they live. Especially since most trees grow tap roots for stability.....

Especially since most trees grow tap roots for stability.....

That's not exactly correct. Most trees do NOT grow tap roots. And many of those that are commonly considered to be tap rooted trees (oaks, pines) often only display this characteristic while young seedlings, developing a more lateral, surface-oriented root system as they mature. Virtually all trees will have the bulk of their root system (95%) located very close to the soil surface -- within the top 12-18" of the soil and most roots will occur right below the soil surface. That is where necessary oxygen and most of the soil moisture and nutrients are located.

It is true that b&b trees can be more difficult to establish. For one, they tend to be larger, more mature specimens, which puts them at an immediate disadvantage compared to a younger, smaller tree. And second, their root systems are gravely compromised, missing as much as 95%, depending on species, age of tree and how it was grown in the field (frequency of root pruning). Combining these factors with an early summer planting - immediate introduction of transplant shock - and poorly draining clay soil and you have a recipe for a difficult situation.

Great input everyone! Thanks kindly. Unfortunately I think the Dogwood is a goner at this point. All the leaves on the the tree are brown and crispy and yet they're not falling off on their own. Someone mentioned earlier that if the leaves fall on their own, then that's a good sign. I sent the photo to the owner of the landscaping company that planted the tree and he commented that the tree is most likely dead - due to over watering. Thankfully he said he would gladly replace it in the fall. So I'm relieved but at the same time feel horrible that I'm responsible for accidentally killing what was a beautiful tree. I was so sure that it was being under watered due to the clay soil. I just figured the football was not being saturated due to the shallow watering, so I watered every day. The rep from the company said that if a tree's leaves don't flush back within 8 hours of watering, then it's being over watered. I do think that the Kousa is more sensitive than other trees because I had the company plant a larin B&B Natchez Crepe Myrtle the same size as the Kousa, in similar clay soil setting in a different location of my yard, with the same watering schedule - and the Natchez is thriving. So when the Fall does roll around, I'm going to need to really consider whether I want to roll the dice with another Dogwood or go with a tree that's less sensitive. Thanks again everyone for your input. This was definitely an educational thread for myself.