I have had my dogwood for 15 years.. it is now starting to die one the top :( and the leaves are starting to shirvle and turn a brownish red color... what it causing this? And how do I stop it? I love my dogwood it was the first tree I planted in my very first home... :(

i have had my dogwood for 15 years.. it is now starting to die one the top :( and the leaves are starting to shirvle and turn a brownish red color..... what it causing this? and how do i stop it? i love my dogwood it was the first tree i planted in my very first home...:(Hi! dogwoodtrouble, and welcome to AMHD :)

I wish I had better news to tell you, but it sounds like your beloved dogwood has two problems.
Spot anthracnose, and crown rot.

If it was just the anthracnose, there are fungicides available to combat that, but with it also developing crown rot, It will be difficult to revive your tree.

Has there been any changes to the area around the tree? Such as landscaping or other trees being trimmed?

Dogwoods need acidic soil to survive and thrive, and they are not especially stress tolerant (needs partial sun, and care when cutting the lawn so you don't scuff the bark with the mower)

If you don't feel confident with spraying fungicides, my suggestion would be to go to a dedicated nursery, and ask the manager if he/she could send one of their personnel out to inspect the tree, and offer a spraying program that may turn the tide in favor of your tree.
At the same time they may also be able to trim the dead wood out of the crown. Even though it is never advisable to top a tree, at this point it would be better to get rid of the dead wood, and allow the tree to try, and heal itself.

In the meanwhile, clean-up, and dispose of all debris from around the tree, and apply acidic tree spikes to around the base of the tree, in lieu of that you can use crushed coal to help supply the acid

You don't say from what neck o' the woods your from, but this site will give information on Dogwoods. PLANTS Profile for Cornus florida (flowering dogwood) | USDA PLANTS (http://www.plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=COFL2) at the bottom of the page there are links for several States, that will take you directly to information for your tree.

Please write back, and let me know how you, and your Dogwood are doing.

K