We are looking to plant a focal tree in the front yard, we are looking at the flowering dogwood, but are concerned regarding it's hardiness from zone 5 to up. Do you think this would be a risky business! We are not looking to plant another one again soon. Last one in this spot was an evergreen, we think it surcombed to the drought.

Dorothy,

Flowering Dogwoods are no doubt beautiful trees, especially in the early spring during full bloom! Over the years, however, flowering dogwood has been hit pretty hard by dogwood anthracnose http://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/howtos/ht_dogwd/ht_dog.htm I've noticed a lot of flowering dogwood mortality in the forests of east-central Illinois. Risky business as an ornamental planting...maybe, maybe not? If you don't ever want to plant another tree, then maybe you need to think about the hundreds of other tree species options available to you :-)

An excellent website to assist you in determining which tree to plant, based on your likes and dislikes, can be found at Morton Arboretum http://www.mortonarb.org/plantinfo/plantclinic/planttrees/plantclinic_planttrees.htm

Hope this helped!