"Mary Beth" wrote in message
news:NTQng.93478$IZ2.74775@dukeread07
I have been having trouble for the first time with my pink
Dogwood
tree. I've always had no problem with planting in front of my
homes, in fairly all day sun, during the summer, in well
drained
soil. They've always come out great.
Now, I've moved to Kansas lately and am having some problems,
well
one, only planted one tree, so far, as many ppl here say so
many
contradictory things about where to plant. Most have them
growing
in shadier areas. So I planted mine, right outside our back
window,
in full view of office window, to be able to look at all day
while
working. J
It did great for about four months, then suddenly started to
lose
it's leaves and is now just about dead; still green in some
stalks.
I've got it where it gets full afternoon sun, from about noon
to
5-6, then shade. I'm going to move it, before I lose it
completely,
but thought I'd ask here for any good info.

Should I place it in more full sun? I did have the area tilled
and
had a small amt of sand added, as it's very thick clay here in
my
area. There are no other plants nearby, aside from my gorgeous
lawn. J At the time it started to die out we had buckets of
rain.
I'm thinking it's a drainage problem. More sand needed? Or just
closer to other trees, which is what ppl here keep saying. But
I
think they do so well there because of all the roots from the
bigger trees, which will cause better draining soil. We'll be
trimming a lot of trees in the fall/spring, so I don't want to
plant too close to any of them, until we know what we're going
to
do.
That's one of the things I love about the area we get lots of
rain
usually during the night, with the thunder and lightening, (I
love
this!), then sunny hot and usually humid days.

So, is there anything I can do with the soil, (am planning
today to
take some to the extension office and have it checked, also the
areas for Azaleas, and other parts.) Should I move it to an
area
that gets more sun, which is what I did before and they did
wonderful, in NJ. Is it the clay soil? Should I add more sand
to
the mix, if I move it around to a different spot?

(To all who are bugged with all the questions, I have a full
huge
library of gardening books in the storage locker, but they just
happen to be way at the back and under plenty of other things,
like
my new lawn mower, seeder, Weber, you know all the great
*summer*
stuff? (Gotta get someone to help rearrange, hub's in a
wheelchair
and I have really bad bone disease, especially in knees. So,
I'm
going to use ya'll for a bit, if that's not a huge problem. Of
course ya'll don't have to help. g)
Any and all help would be greatly appreciated. J

Thanks again,

MaryBeth,

Southeastern Kansas

On border of Oklahoma

Zone 7/8

Clay + sand = cement. Try incorporating organic matter into your
soil.

Midwest summers would necessitate some shade for your dogwood.

--

Travis in Shoreline (just North of Seattle) Washington
USDA Zone 8
Sunset Zone 5