Dogwood refusing to grow

last month

We planted a dogwood in the front yard about seven years ago or so. A couple of years later we re-did the yard so it was transplanted. It suffered from transplant shock for a few years after that but did not die. We babied it through all that the best we could but to this day it refuses to grow.

It isn't dead, it leafs out in Spring but stays small and barely produces any flowers.

Right next door the neighbors' old dogwoods thrive:

I am specifying not out of dogwood jealousy :) but to indicate the larger conditions are virtually the same.

I do wonder about one thing: as you can see, our baby-forever dogwood is surrounded by two concentric circles of plants: a row of daffodils that die out to the ground after the spring flush, masked by an outer row of daylilies that take over to cover the spent daffs.

They are somewhat close to the tree and I wonder whether these plants might act as nutrition thieves to the little dogwood.

I thought it was the other way around: that the trees take over and if anything, the smaller plants fail to thrive as a result. However, both my daffodils and lilies thrive - just not the tree.

We are loathe to remove it and replace since with trees the settling in period takes forever.

Should we just give up the surrounding flowers? The lawn would look too blah.

What would you advise?

Thank you so much.

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Comments (9)

BillMN-z-2-3-4
last month
Hi, Artist-FKA,

I wouldn't worry about the daffodils, but could that tree have had its root flare buried during the yard revamp? That would be my first suggestion.

Carefully, by hand, if possible, see if you can find the root flare, by removing soil around the base of the trunk.

A few pictures of that area too and let us know what you find out.
cecily 7A
last month
Also please describe your lawn care and irrigation routine.
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davidrt28 (zone 7)
last month
Do you remember if it was B&B or container grown? It was probably container grown for most or all of its life in a nursery, and the roots are entirely knotted. If it has barely grown in 7 years, it's probably wiser to just start over with a new tree, and check for the problem this time. Even if B&B, it could have been planted in a wholesaler's field from a container w/knotted roots. I wasted almost 10 years of my life on a rare beech tree that was doomed when I bought it.

It's too bad this is happening, but, alas, it's largely the state of American horticulture now. The only option when planting a tree these days is: fully inspect the root system yourself, or buy from the upper echelon of B&B producers who really know what they are doing. Which means you probably won't be buying at a big box store.
Artist-FKA-Novice Zone 7B GA
Original Author
last month
Hello everyone and thank you for your kind replies.

I do not remember whether it was B&B or container grown. I remember my husband dealt wit the whole thing and he is not exactly a yard/landscape expert, much as I wasn't at the time either. In the meantime, I took a keen interest in gardening and I understand a lot more these days compared to back then. So I have no idea how the roots looked when it was first brought to us and planted, neither did I think to check when it was transplanted by the landscapers who did our front yard in Spring 2020.

I cannot see the root flare as it is planted on a mound and it's rather deeply buried. I will add a picture below with my phone.

Irrigation...well, as much as I can in the summer, but otherwise, it was mostly on his own. It does receive some annual fertilizer since I fertilize the flowers around it.

If we decide to replace it next year, where should I buy it from and what should I be looking for? Check to make sure the roots are not in a knot?

I know quite a bit about gardening by now - flowers, shrubs, etc - but almost nothing about trees.
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Artist-FKA-Novice Zone 7B GA
Original Author
last month
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BillMN-z-2-3-4
last month
The tree does look like it has been 'Telephone Poled' meaning the root flare has been buried too deeply.

The roots may be a tangled mess too but if the root flare is too deep, then no matter what roots look like, the tree will not flourish.

Depth of root flare would be the easiest thing to check first, before going further with other remedies (see diagram posted below).
davidrt28 (zone 7)
last month
for reference https://web.archive.org/web/20230318040541/http://www.raemelton.com/bartletttreerese.html
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BillMN-z-2-3-4
last month
That tangled roots tree in the link was pretty good size for having its roots that tangled for as long as it took for it to get that size.
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BillMN-z-2-3-4
last month
Artist,

if the root flare is good, just dig a little deeper to see what the roots look like.

Replacement would be best if circling roots is the problem.
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