I see this is not such an easy decision! I appreciate the range of
comments and that this group does not disintegrate into squabbling
when they disagree. The reason I posted here was because I live in
the Pacific Northwest and there are few people who have experience
with this disease here. The tree in question is a Pacific Dogwood.
It is tall enough and the damaged bits have worked their way high
enough that it would be pretty impossible to prune them all. The
crown looks fine as does the upper branches on the west side. If I
get a cherry picker in here, I could cut away all the damage, but the
tree would look pretty bare. I hate to just throw in the towel
without even trying, but if I put a lot of effort into this with no
result I'll be more attached to it than I am now. It's only been
three months and I'm already having a tough time making the decision.
Argh. There's just something great about buying a house with mature
trees and shrubs surrounding it. That part of me wants to give this
tree a chance. Again, thanks for the comments. I'll probably be back
at some point with more new yard-owner questions.
Best regards to you all,
Samantha