My young pink dogwood

Question

I planted my 5 foot young tree last year and it lost its leaves. Presently there are no leaves and now I’m wondering, now that it is March, when to expect to see new growth. I have it protected by a large black plastic ring, and have two large stakes to hold it up. I do deep water the tree and have mulch and bark covering its roots. I may be too anxious for it to grow.

Answer 1

This is possible. You can check to see if it is alive by bending the tip of one of its branches. If it is brittle, then it could be dead. If it bends or has green underneath, then it may just be recovering.