http://awaytogarden.com/a-mixed-year-here-for-kousa-dogwoods Organic gardening inspiration from Margaret Roach Sat, 11 Feb 2012 16:26:23 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://awaytogarden.com/a-mixed-year-here-for-kousa-dogwoods/comment-page-1#comment-69751 kelly Fri, 24 Jun 2011 05:52:43 +0000 http://awaytogarden.com/?p=5249#comment-69751 Oh dear, yes it sounds like dogwood anthracnose. Well over half the leaves have shriveled and turned brown and are starting to drop. I hope this doesn't kill my poor tree! I think moisture and lack of sun could be to blame. This has been a terribly rainy year, in fact it is pouring rain here as I write, and we have really only had 4 days of sun this year so far. Also it probably did not help that I did not clean up last falls leaves from underneath it. Thank you for the reply Margaret! Oh dear, yes it sounds like dogwood anthracnose. Well over half the leaves have shriveled and turned brown and are starting to drop. I hope this doesn’t kill my poor tree! I think moisture and lack of sun could be to blame. This has been a terribly rainy year, in fact it is pouring rain here as I write, and we have really only had 4 days of sun this year so far. Also it probably did not help that I did not clean up last falls leaves from underneath it. Thank you for the reply Margaret!

]]> http://awaytogarden.com/a-mixed-year-here-for-kousa-dogwoods/comment-page-1#comment-67207 Beth Wed, 15 Jun 2011 13:26:06 +0000 http://awaytogarden.com/?p=5249#comment-67207 Margaret, my "animal-pruned" kousas (posted above) have come back in a variety of ways. One looks just like the small tree I had in mind. Another is abundantly branched out at the top and looks rather like a leafy bouquet. The others have broken out with leaves in various spots along the original trunk, a couple at the base only, others part-way up the trunk but not at all in the upper foot or two of the trunk. Is it possible to prune these into tree-like shapes rather than the shrub forms you predicted? If there is growth at the bottom only, what should I do? Should I give up and replace the bottom-leafers? Margaret, my “animal-pruned” kousas (posted above) have come back in a variety of ways. One looks just like the small tree I had in mind. Another is abundantly branched out at the top and looks rather like a leafy bouquet. The others have broken out with leaves in various spots along the original trunk, a couple at the base only, others part-way up the trunk but not at all in the upper foot or two of the trunk. Is it possible to prune these into tree-like shapes rather than the shrub forms you predicted? If there is growth at the bottom only, what should I do? Should I give up and replace the bottom-leafers?

]]> http://awaytogarden.com/a-mixed-year-here-for-kousa-dogwoods/comment-page-1#comment-67188 Margaret Wed, 15 Jun 2011 11:41:58 +0000 http://awaytogarden.com/?p=5249#comment-67188 Welcome, Kelly. Generally speaking, kousas are resistant to fungal diseases that plague the native flowering dogwood, Cornus florida, but there are exceptions (especially in wet years). Does <a href="http://www.uri.edu/ce/factsheets/sheets/dogwoodprobs.html" rel="nofollow">any of this</a> sound like what you are experiencing? Welcome, Kelly. Generally speaking, kousas are resistant to fungal diseases that plague the native flowering dogwood, Cornus florida, but there are exceptions (especially in wet years). Does any of this sound like what you are experiencing?

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