Dogwoods - and I'm assuming this is cornus florida - can be effected by a large number of fungal infections. An examination by a tree service, county extension service, etc. is the best way to determine if this is your problem.

What is striking in the photos is that the grass grows much too close to the tree. The tiny circle with mulch needs to be much bigger. It's entirely possible that the grass is out-competing the tree for moisture and nutrients. Stressed dogwoods are much more likely to become infected than those growing under optimal conditions. The large patch of missing bark on the trunk is another problem.

That patch of bark may have been the way borers have entered the tree ... and may have slowly been decimating it for years. The symptoms of shriveled and sparse growth appear unfortunately toward the end of their damage cycle and when it's almost too late for the tree. I have 2 dogwoods that were on their way out and may ultimately die ... BUT!!!! ... I was able to get some Lindane, a now-banned insecticide that was particularly effective against borers (like nothing then or since), and after two treatments (one last Fall and one this Spring), the trees are showing new signs of branch growth and the leaves look dark green, flat and robust. Just for good measure, I also sprayed with a general fungicide (the white crusty growths, seem harmless). My lawn grows right to the trunk of one, and the other is in a bed of Pokeberry (that's another story!). They don't seem affected by that, but there's been so much rain, there's water enough for everything. And to top it all off, I put in a few fertilizer spikes nearby --- lol.

This post was edited by onthebrinck on Tue, Jul 9, 13 at 7:44

very frankly ....

trees dont live forever .... and this one is way past its prime ...

yes... you can spend hundreds of dollars TRYING to save it.. but odds are.. it will be throwing good money after bad... because i suspect.. that you will lose ... and then on top of your money os saving it.. you will spend again.. to remove it ....

you would be much better off... getting rid of it.. and putting in a fresh young stud .... and enjoy watching it grow ... [perhaps in a slightly different spot to avoid dealing with the stump.. etc]

i spent ... wasted.. the first 5 years at my first house.. trying to save all the prior owners nightmares... i often wondered if he didnt just move because of them ...

in hindsight.. i would have saved a lot of blood, sweat and tears.. AND MONEY.. had i just divested... rather than investing on a lost cause ...

its all in your head.. as to which direction you wish to go ... good luck

ken

Ken, are you capitalisticly rationing healthcare for this tree? Reminds me of when my mother in law took her dog to the vet and they found a tumor.

Soapbox aside, Backstreet, unless the tree was hit hard by a drought kast year and is yet to recover I worry. Have an ISA certified arborist come take a peek and see if they can find anything to treat. Ask them the chances of success and cost then decide. (darn Ken and his rationing coming up again)

what up toro...

so they should spend a couple hundred.. on a ISA CA.. to tell them to do a couple more hundred on treatments... that will probably fail... to spend a few more hundred on removal ... and a few more hundred to replace...

you are free with their money ...

i would pull out my chainsaw.. cut if flush.. treat the stump ... and plant 6 to 8 feet in another direction.. total cost... whatever the 6 foot replacement cost.. what.. hundred bucks??

ken

I'm with you Ken, cut it down and move on.
The bark sloughing off like it is, tells me the fix isn't worth it,..if it can be fixed. Which I doubt.
I don't think the stump has to be treated. I've never known a Cornus florida stump to sprout when cut low and I've cut a lot of them down when doing yard makeovers. They used to be quite popular here until anthracnose became so prevalent. Cornus kousa is the obvious choice now as a Dogwood replacement for our area.
Mike

I'm much too much of a sentimentalist. When I turned to the forum four summers ago with problems I was having with my newly acquired garden, I was given advice akin to this ... tear it all out and start over. Being a senior, I likened that to me being pushed to the curb because I wasn't as vital as I had been in my youth. Well, guess what? Every single shrub and tree is healthier and more beautiful and robust because I nurtured them all back to health. AND I FEEL YOUNGER, TOO!

" what up toro...so they should spend a couple hundred.. on a ISA CA.. to tell them to do a couple more hundred on treatments... that will probably fail... to spend a few more hundred on removal ... and a few more hundred to replace..."

No I would not. Notice I said unless there was a patch of bad weather which caused it I would not be optimistic.

But ya know, I was not the most clear.

I have been spendig too much time on the political boards listenong to the healthcare fears.