Transplanted dogwood (more than 5 yrs) as a 13’ tree, pink flowers originally, now more white-ish. A selection of branches with no green leaves or growth, remove these branches? It has wood mulch at its base. It gets a gator water bag for summer. Needs nutrients or feeding?

Thank you for reaching out. Based on your description, there are a few things we would want to evaluate before recommending fertilization or treatment for your dogwood.

Branches that produced no leaves or new growth this season may be dead and can generally be removed once their condition is confirmed. However, because you are seeing dieback in multiple branches, we would also want to rule out an underlying problem rather than assuming the tree simply needs pruning or fertilizer.

One concern with flowering dogwoods is anthracnose, a fungal disease that can cause leaf spotting or larger irregular brown blotches, premature leaf drop, twig lesions, and eventually branch dieback. The presence of dead branches alone isn’t enough to diagnose anthracnose, but there are a few signs you can look for, particularly at this time of year.

On the leaves, look for irregular brown blotches that follow the veins or extend from the leaf tip down the center vein, rather than simply browning or crisping around the outer edges.

Also look for dead or brown leaves that remain attached to otherwise leafless twigs, as well as darkened or slightly sunken areas where dead twigs transition into healthy wood. If you see a combination of these leaf symptoms and twig or branch dieback, anthracnose becomes more of a concern.

By comparison, browning primarily along leaf tips and margins, particularly on the sunnier portions of the tree, is more commonly associated with heat or moisture stress.

If anthracnose is confirmed, treatment typically involves a combination of cultural practices and disease management rather than relying on a single treatment. Dead and infected twigs should be selectively pruned and removed, fallen infected leaves should be cleaned up, and irrigation should be managed to reduce prolonged wetting of the foliage while maintaining adequate soil moisture. Reducing drought and other environmental stresses is also important because stressed dogwoods can be more susceptible to disease. Depending on the severity of infection and condition of the tree, fungicide treatment may also be appropriate. Seattle Tree Care offers systemic fungicide treatments for certain tree diseases, like anthracnose, including trunk-injection options when appropriate. These treatments are primarily intended to protect susceptible new growth and reduce future disease development; they will not restore branches that have already died. If the symptoms appear consistent with anthracnose, we would first want to confirm the diagnosis and evaluate the extent of dieback before recommending a treatment program.

Regarding the flowers, the change from pink toward whitish flowers is not, by itself, an indication of nutrient deficiency. The pink coloration in dogwood bracts is produced by anthocyanin pigments, and the intensity of that coloration can vary from year to year based on the cultivar, spring temperatures, moisture conditions, light exposure, and the stage of bract development when the flowers are observed. In some pink-flowering dogwoods, cooler spring conditions and favorable moisture can produce stronger pigment expression, while warmer conditions or differences in light exposure may result in noticeably paler pink or nearly white bracts. The bracts can also change color as they mature, so the same tree may appear more intensely pink early in bloom and lighter later in the flowering period. Because this variation is largely related to genetics, environment, and flower development rather than soil fertility, we would not recommend fertilizing specifically to restore the pink color.

Since the tree has been established for more than five years, we would also reconsider the Gator bag as the primary means of irrigation. The tree’s absorbing roots should now extend well beyond the original root ball. During dry summer weather, less frequent, deeper watering over a broader portion of the root zone is generally preferable to concentrating water immediately around the trunk. Mulch is beneficial as long as it is kept away from the trunk and root flare. Placing mulch too close to the trunk or the root flare can lead to conditions that favor tree pathogens.

Photos would be very helpful in this case. If possible, please send photos of the entire tree, the affected/dead branches, several representative leaves, and the trunk and root flare. Close-up photos of the transition between live and dead portions of affected branches would also be useful. From there, we can better determine whether this appears to be normal deadwood/environmental stress or whether anthracnose, canker disease, or another problem warrants a closer inspection.