On Sat, 02 Aug 2003 15:05:02 GMT, "SugarChile"
wrote:

Here in the northeast, dogwoods are subject to "dogwood decline", aka
anthracnose, and this year it is particularly bad. Last year's severe
drought stressed the trees, and this year's cool, wet, extended spring has
allowed the disease to thrive. I have one dogwood that has been in decline
for some years, losing twigs and leaves and such, that is losing entire
branches this year. My "healthy" tree, that has resisted the problem so
far, is showing signs of it this year.

It's a crying shame; they are such beautiful native trees, with a form and
beauty unmatched by any other understory tree. But so it goes.....

The same story is happening here in the Southeast, where the
dogwood is virtually a signature tree. The problems are
particularly bad near the coast, where they are stressed by
periods of drought and (this year) unending rainfall; salt
spray during hurricanes, and poor soil. What the anthracnose
doesn't do, the borers see to.

We had to remove 8 dogwoods from our lot (that's all of them),
and it was a disappointment. I see neighbors trying to nurse
them into health, but they are not successful. Only an hour
inland, the dogwoods are doing better -- for now, anyway.


Mike Prager
Beaufort, NC (on the coast in zone 8a)
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