| I live in Raleigh, NC. My 20 year old dogwood barely flowered this spring and all of its leaves have fallen off (this happened in June/July). What should I do? |
| It sounds as though your dogwood is stressed (either water stress or heat stress) and that's what has caused early defoliation. Fungal diseases can also cause early defoliation but you'll generally see curling leaves and spots or a white coating on the leaves before they fall from the tree. It's almost impossible to diagnose a problem without seeing the tree so I can only suggest you water deeply on a regular basis to help your tree get through the rest of the summer with a healthy root system. When it flowers and leafs out next spring, clip a few of the leaves and take them into your cooperative extension office for help. If your tree has a fungal disease they will be able to detect it by examining the leaves under a microscope. Contact Wake County Cooperative Extension, 4001 Carya Drive Raleigh, NC 27610-2916 - phone (919) 250-1100. Good luck with your dogwood. |
