Do you know what kind of dogwood it is? Eastern dogwood, Cornus florida, is prone to a number of diseases, which although rarely fatal, tend to make the tree/foliage unattractive. Otherwise, your dogwood is showing the classic signs of too much sun and not enough water. A common occurrence with many dogwood trees sited in full sun. These are by nature woodland understory trees.

Yes, I do think it is an Eastern Dogwood. Is it a possibility the spotting is due to lack of watering? Or is that for sure a Fungus?

Many deciduous trees have crummy looking foliage by mid August.

What cecily said is true :-) In addition, there are a number of leaf spots that can affect Eastern dogwood, including spot anthracnose,Septoria corincola, Phyllosticta and Cercospora. They are considered mostly cosmetic and rarely ever is any kind of treatment prescribed.

if you want a tree, instead of a bush, I would cut the suckers that are growing around the base. As a bush the suckers and lower branches will take a lot of nutrient taking away from the main part of the tree. I would also cut most of the branches up to about 3 feet from the ground. As the tree grows you will need to do this regularly possible cutting some of the lower branches so you can mow under and around the tree.

Removing all of these lower branches and sucker will allow the tree to concentrate it grown up and in the upper leaves.

@KB Knuttle - Should I wait until the winter season to cut the suckers & lower branches or are suckers safe to cut now in summer?

Thank you for all the amazing advice!

NEVER prune a tree in the fall. Never! It will encourage it to produce tender new growth that will be winter killed. Pruning, especially major pruning, should be done in late winter/very early spring.

But I also wanted to add that you have posted questions about two young trees that were on the property when you arrived. None of the pictures you posted show the base of the tree, and I'm wondering if, as sadly is all too common, the trees were planted too deep. A tree should be planted so that the root flare shows. It's always better to plant to high than too deep. My neighbor has a young dogwood that is planted too deep and it's beginning to decline because of that.

I wish you had a photo of your tree in bloom. The shape of your tree and the way it holds its' leaves reminds me of cornus kousa.

@laceyvail 6A, WV - I'm happy to wait until winter to prune the suckers and lower branches. I'm in the Atlanta area and it's still very hot here. As long as it's in the best interest of the tree to wait, I'm happy to do so.

Here's a picture of the base of the tree:

Not really clear enough to see, but it does look as if it is "telephone poled," that is, not showing the root flare. Very likely to be the source of the problem.

Check your redbud too.

@laceyvail 6A, WV If that is the case, would I just clear the dirt/mulch around it to expose the roots a bit more?

You could try that. Google root flare, look at some of the suggestions so you get a better idea of what you're looking for and how to deal with it..

Good luck. You might be able to save the trees if it hasn't been too long.