Thank you so much! Of course *after* I planted it read all about how it should be in partial shade (oops). Any tips for keeping it healthy in full sun? I will google leaf spot.

Dogwoods will be susceptible to disease and pest issues when planted in the full blazing sun in much of the country. You're fighting a losing battle....or at least a difficult battle.

In the future, evaluate your site carefully according to sun exposure at different times of day and year, soil drainage, soil type, and pH. Only after you do that can you reliably select trees and shrubs that can thrive.

As a self proclaimed newbie, you may want to review best practices for planting and for post planting care. Cornell University has a wonderful extension service, you ought to visit your local office to become acquainted. The website is excellent, too.

You've got some exciting times ahead of you!

Looks like sun scorch (I think that is what it is called). My younger dogwood has it. It is commonly from lack of water. I'm in PA and August was dry for us. Just give it more water. I have always had dogwoods in full sun with no problem. Our full sun isn't as strong as in the south.

I am located further north than just about anywhere else in the continental US and dogwoods still struggle in full sun here. They are by nature woodland understory trees so partial or dappled shade is what they are best adapted to.

btw, sun scorch is not caused by insufficient water, although that may exacerbate it. It is due to too much sun!

Washington State University

A common complaint with dogwoods at this time of year, after a period of hot, dry weather, is that the leaf edges are brown. Some leaves also develop some fairly large brown spots on the leaves. The leaves usually are also droopy, reddish, and curled. These are symptoms of leaf scorch of dogwood. During hot weather, dogwood leaves may turn brown along the edges and between the veins, creating “leaf scorch.” Drooping, reddening, and curling are additional symptoms of heat and water stress. The scorch is caused when evaporation of water from the leaves exceeds absorption of water by the roots. This can occur because of dry soil, a weak root system, trunk injury, high temperatures, or shallow soil. Leaf scorch rarely kills dogwoods, but it can weaken them. Prevent it by planting dogwoods in partial shade and keeping the soil slightly moist during hot weather periods. It’s also important not to over water by keeping the soil totally saturated. This will suffocate the roots and quickly lead to root or crown rot. Mulch the soil around the dogwood with a loose bark mulch to conserve water, cool the root zone, and prevent weed competition. However, don’t over-mulch. Mulch thicker than three to four inches may lead to more surface roots which will be susceptible to winter injury, high temperature damage, and drought.

What is the Cloudiest City in the United States?

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, tops the list of the cloudiest cities in the US. The city sees the sun for approximately 2,021 hours annually. Generally, it is cloudy in Pittsburgh for 77% of the year.

https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-cloudiest-cities-in-the-united-states.html

See why I can grow Dogwood in full sun, because we don't get much.

I guess that depends on what websites you read :-) "The west coast cities of Portland and Seattle top the list of cloudiest large cities in the United States.

Overall, nine major American cities have solid overcast for more than 180 days a year. Besides the Pacific Northwest, cities with frequent cloudy weather are mainly near the Great Lakes."

Seattle and much of the PNW has had a long established reputation for gray days :-) And even when the sun does shine, we are so far north the intensity is minimal compared to most of the US. Yet even here dogwoods struggle in full sun.

it is september in z5 ... many trees are starting to show the stresses of a long summer ... and that mean the leaves get ugly... and start shutting down... color change.. sometimes not a good color ...

yours even more.. because of the planting this spring ... it will be under stress due to that alone for at least next year.... and maybe one more after ...

i noticed some sycamores in the area.. already getting ugly for fall ... it will happen to all trees in a few weeks in our zone ..

everything in the above replies is proper .. but you and i arent in the PNW/AL ....and the other warmer zones ... read.. learn ... etc ... they have a much longer growing season ...

too bad the top pic is sideways ... im wondering if i am seeing a large would ..near the ground.. under the white plastic??? ... go look ....if there is... remove the white stuff.. and snap a new pic for us ...

a redbud might be a brilliant choice for that spot ... should this one fail.. or you move it ....

we have all lost trees... and the more you plant.. the more you lose ... dont let that get you down.. if it should happen ..

imo .. dogwood has given me a lot of trouble over the years in my MI ... the foo foo ones ... i think you may have started with a hard one.. rather than an easy tree ...

ken

btw.. i mentioned sycamore... because thats another tree that is susceptible to many diseases.. that make its leaves look ugly in late summer and fall ...

ken

My experience agrees w/Gardengal that dogwoods in full sun may look good for a time, but show suffering (leaf-scorch) by August. Interesting tho, is that such dogwoods resist the dogwood-anthracnose more than shaded/sheltered ones because their leaves/stems stay drier.

My Pagoda Dogwood in full sun has similar looking leaves now as well at this time of year, though more purple red tinging on the upper leaves. I've had it in a few years. Seems a happy tree though overall. A newish Maple is to the southeast and I plan to put in another tree west of it, so at some point in future it will have more shade.

Thank you everyone! This has been SO helpful. I have a ton to learn obviously. Wondering if I should try to move the Dogwood somewhere else the yard now while it's small or if that will just mess things up further? Or just hope for the best and see if it survives.

Many may disagree, but I have had better results transplanting in the spring than fall. I've found the roots don't have enough time to become established before the ground freezes and the harsh winter winds blow in if you transplant in the fall. I personaly would leave it where it is at and during dry spells give it more water and a light layer of mulch. Generally that is when in the north east we get less than 1 inch of rain a week. That usually happens in august. The larger it grows the less it will get sunscorch due to its larger root structure able to reach water.

Regardless of whether you move it or not, you will want to remove all grass at least as wide as the branches, and give it a 2” coating of shredded bark mulch or similar, though leave several inches right by the trunk unmulched. Removing grass will remove competition for water, and adding mulch will help keep soil moisture and temperature even. Be sure if you replant that it isn’t deeper than currently planted.

How is your dogwood doing? I heard watering bags really help. It's obviously to late to tell you but I was just curious what you came up with and if it is thriving.

Hello, I have a similar question regarding dogwood tree. I live in Toronto and we planted a dogwood tree in June this year. A couple of weeks ago I noticed the edges of the leaves are turning pink and leaving are slowly drying up. Do you think it's because of underwater or overwatering?

How often do you water it?

When you take a hand trowel and dig down just outside the main root ball, is the soil moist, wet or dry several inches down?

What type of soil are we talking about, sand? Clay? Loam? or some other.

Only you can decide when to water. And checking the soil to make sure that it needs water is up to you.

Some soils can be more of a problem. Sometimes, you dig a hole in a heavy clay soil, plop a plant in the hole, the clay can act like a bowl, holding the water and essentially drowning the new plant.

Most universities post planting instructions on their websites.

Twice a week. I watered ( soaked the roots) every other day when we planted for about a month. Now we water twice a week or depending on how hot it is. I just inserted the screw driver around the tree ( about 5-6 inches deep) and right now the soil looks moist) .

Thanks

YW.

Dogwoods generally can take very moist conditions, but roots need air as well as water, so you don't want to drown them.

With Fall nearing along with cooler weather and plants beginning to shut down, water requirements will lessen. You just don't want them to dry out completely as they go into winter.

And leaves beginning to turn colors this time of year is pretty normal. They've done their job.

:-)

Thank you!