thanks for the reply's. I'll try to take some pics of these trees and have my better half show me how to post em. labsnslabs, you might be correct about the dogwood that has not flowered yet because it sits within 25ft of a large walnut and within 40ft of a medium sized white oak. but those larger trees are to the north of the dogwood so it still gets a full day of sunlight. I also have never pruned that tree and it is due for a haircut. the trees in the front yard have no shade at all and they have looked really healthy from the start. I'm definatly not complaining about my trees flowering again, my yard could use some color this summer, other than brown!