Oh my goodness. Such great advice from everyone. Thank you so much! Daisyl the mulch article was interesting. I had no idea!
As an update I tested the PH of my soil and it came in just under 7. That may be a false representation however. When planting I added manuer and compost to the hole when planting so Im not sure 7 is entirely accurate. I added some kelp and bone meal to help. I also dug the mulch and dirt away from the root flare and leveled out the surrounding dirt to prevent too much water from collecting. Of course today it is raining here and not going to help if this is an over watering issue. Im going to hold my breathe, cross my fingers, pray and hop on one foot in hopes the tree pulls thru.
On a side note I noticed when digging the dirt away from the root flare that I have some major worm (not grub) families living in my dirt. I used a spade and with every dig produced at least 2-5 worms in various sizes. I was very glad to see that. I had planted two of these dogwoods originally. The one we are discussing is in my front yard. The other is in the backyard and shows no signs of growth and is not leafing out. I only point this out because most of my landscaping energy has been focused on my front yard. When I bought this house last year there was no landscaping at all. I started on the front yard for curb appeal, including a 70 ft wrap around flowerbed, a walkway, and the dogwood and a maple tree. The dogwood in my backyard is all by its lonesome and has not received the attention the one in the front has. Of course it could just be a bad tree but Im thinking that the original soil may have not been so great by the performance of the dogwood in the back yard.
All of this to say I think you all helped me diagnose the problem and hopefully correct it. I could not be more grateful and hope I may be able to return the favor someday.
