On Dec 24, 4:58 pm, "symplastless" wrote:

Good question.

John,

Thanks for the reply, and all the info!

No sure of the exact type. The tree came from a respected local
nursery. I've purchased several from them and have had success. Note
the tree was planted at the proper depth.

First of all the sun in most likely secondary. Second, Cornus florida
dogwoods are understory trees and prefer understory sunlight.

I understand this and planted this newest dogwood with a group of
other small, newly planted young trees. But the other trees haven't
grown quickly enough to offer shade to the young dogwood. I also made
a mistake in not turning the tree's most prominent branches towards
the sunniest side. However, I did place a 3-4 inch layer of pine
needles and woods chips at the base of the tree, extending out about
3-4 feet. (No mulch is within 4-5 inches from the base of the tree.)
Plus I added large amounts of used coffee grounds to the soil.

I'm unable to post pictures. But the wound goes right down to the
bare trunk. The bark just peeled away.

To prevent further damage (I know now should have done this to begin
with) I painted the S-SW side of the trunk with white interior latex
paint.

With this info, what's your prognosis? Chop it down and start all
over, or wait and see if it recovers? And is recovery even
possible?

Patrick

Second
regardless of the "wound" you should treat the system. can you take a
picture of the tree and the wound. here are some of the recommended
treatments for your tree system. A picture of the wound would be great!

1st requirement is partial shade. Which type dogwood is it?

2nd fertilizing / mulching.

The first step in proper fert. is "feeding" and stimulating the soil
micros, that in return, alter the chemical elements such as iron, nitrogen,
boron and so on so they are in a form that the tree can absorb. Also the
mycorrhizae greatly facilitate the absorption of elements dissolved in
water. The fungi portion of the composite organ rely on composted wood as
its substrate. In fact in a forest, nurse logs are the substrate for the
base of the food web, the mycorrhizal fungi. Anyway, I have specific
instructions for mulching hehttp://www.treedictionary.com/DICT20...ion/mulch.html

After mulching organic fertilizer, I recommend organic, because some
products such as "Plant Tone" has about 56 or 16 essential elements within.
I do not find pleasure pushing products. However, I am recommending to
fertilize with as many of the essential elements you can get. I would also
cut the recommended dosage on product in half. The element that is lacking
will be the element factor.
(http://www.treedictionary.com/DICT20...w_minimum.html)
If you read the label there are listed the elements the product contain.
There are 17 essential elements known of:
C; H; N; O; P; K; S; Mg; Ni; Fe; Ca; Zn; Mo; Mn; B; Cl; Cu

It used to be 16 essential elements but with techno equipment at Penn State
they recognize Ni as an essential element.

Also the organic fertilizer helps feed the micros.
Fertilize article:http://www.treedictionary.com/DICT2003/shigo/RHIZO.html

and

http://www.treedictionary.com/DICT2003/shigo/CHEM.html

Its also winter time and a good article would be:http://www.treedictionary.com/DICT20...go/WINTER.html

maybe the tree was planted too deep. That can create such symptoms.

If you are going to water the tree, just water it enough to moisten the
absorbing roots which are in the upper 4" of soil most of the time.
Do not water at the trunk but away from the trunk.

If you decide to prune your tree I would recommend this first.http://www.treedictionary.com/DICT20...e_pruning.html

The big thing for your dogwood is soil management and shade.

Please get me some pictures of wound, where the trunk meets the soil, and
some of the branches. Then I can guide you better.

--
Sincerely,
John A. Keslick, Jr.
Consulting Arboristhttp://home.ccil.org/~treeman
and www.treedictionary.com
Beware of so-called tree experts who do not understand tree biology.
Storms, fires, floods, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions keep reminding us
that we are not the boss.

wrote in message

...

One of my small, recently planted (about a year ago) 5-foot tall
dogwood trees has sunscald on the southwest side of its trunk. The
patch [of sunscald] is about 2" long and 1/2" wide. Is there any
hope, or treatment, for this tree?

Patrick