What you are seeing is a natural part of how Cornus kousa trees develop. One of the reasons we love these plants as they age is that they develop what’s called exfoliating bark. Overt time you’re likely to see this tree wearing it’s own version of “camo” or camouflage, with patches of green, brown, tan and gold.
Flaking can sometimes be accelerated on the south sides of a tree as this side freezes and thaws during the winter. The cold air freezes tissues at night while especially in February the warmer sun thaws it during the day. But even when you see this more predominately on one side, you don’t have to be worried about it. See a photo of typical mature kousa dogwood bark here: http://www.hort.uconn.edu/plants/detail.php?pid=125
I have my kousa dogwood for about 25 years — never had a problem until just now — the bark is flaking off – I don’t know what to do – you say that this might be natural but I am not sure – what can I do? Also, I don’t know what happened over the winter (it was quite mild) but the dog leaves have gotten much larger than usual.
I’ve read your article, as well as several articles on this topic from other sources. I’ve gleaned a lot of information from your writing. Do you have any other suggestions regarding this topic? This will help me gain more comprehensive information.
I’m certainly grateful for your excellent writing. I hope it will serve as a reference in journals or other scientific papers and be helpful to many people. Thank you.
Regards, Unissula