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Dogwood tree care


Dogwood Care - How To Grow Dogwood Trees

Flowering dogwoods (Cornus florida) are deciduous trees native to the eastern half of the United States. These trees can add year-round beauty to the landscape. Let’s look at how to grow dogwood trees.

Flowering dogwoods range in color from white to pink or red and generally bloom for about two to four weeks in early spring. They also add summer and fall color, with rich green foliage color in summer and reddish purple leaves during fall. This is oftentimes followed by brilliant red berries in winter. Proper dogwood care will bring these lovely trees to their height of beauty.

How to Grow Dogwood Trees

In their natural habitat, dogwoods are understory trees, which are generally surrounded or protected by other larger trees. Therefore, when caring for dogwood trees, this should be considered carefully before placement in the landscape.

Locating these trees on the edge of wooded areas or in groups is oftentimes more suitable to their natural surroundings. They can also be used as a backdrop for azaleas or other spring-flowering shrubs.

Flowering dogwoods can be grown in sun or shade, however, trees planted in partial shade generally perform better. Trees planted in full sun can be stressful, making them more susceptible to dogwood borers and heat stress. For care of flowering dogwood trees, dogwoods that are planted in full sun must also rely on frequent watering, especially during hot conditions.

While dogwoods will grow in a variety of climates and soil conditions, they typically grow best in, and even prefer, well-drained, humus-rich soil that is slightly acidic.

Planting Dogwood Care

Bare root and burlap dogwood trees should be transplanted in late fall or early spring.

Container grown trees can be transplanted anytime of the year, provided they are watered regularly after planting. A dogwood should be planted about two-thirds the depth of its root ball. The soil should be gently mounded around the sides of the root ball. Do not place soil directly over the top of the root ball, as this should be left slightly above ground level.

It is acceptable to apply a layer of mulch to help conserve water, however, for good dogwood care, keep this a couple inches (5 cm.) away from the trunk. Be sure to water the tree thoroughly after planting and on a regular basis until the tree establishes itself.

Care of Flowering Dogwood

Most dogwoods require supplemental water during summer and fall, especially during hot, dry spells. For care of flowering dogwood trees, regular watering once a week to a depth of 6 inches (15 cm.) should suffice. However, adding a generous layer of mulch will help retain moisture, minimizing watering chores.

Most established trees do not require fertilizer. However, if you do choose to fertilize young dogwoods, use only a small amount of slow-release fertilizer.

Dogwood trees seldom need pruning, however, it may be necessary to remove dead or injured branches, suckers, and diseased or insect-infested parts on occasion. Shaping trees may also help keep them more attractive looking.

Flowering dogwood trees are considered “bleeders,” which means they bleed sap, if pruned during late winter. Summer is an ideal time to take care of any pruning tasks that may be needed since these plants do not bleed sap during this time.

Once established in the landscape, caring for dogwood trees is relatively easy. As long as they have been planted in the proper conditions and location, the overall care of flowering dogwoods is minimal.

Caring for Dogwood Trees in Your Yard or Garden

Tips on having a dogwood tree in your yard

By Cayla Leonard

If you’re looking for a tree with beautiful flowers, berries that attract birds, and a size that’s neither too big nor too small, then a dogwood may be just the tree for you.

Of course, once you’ve decided to plant a dogwood, you’ll need to know how to take proper care of it. From choosing a planting site and making sure it has all the water and nutrients it needs to knowing how to protect it from pests and diseases, we’ve got you covered. Here's how to plant a dogwood tree.

Contents

Difficulty

Easy

Duration

1 hour

What You Need

Picking a planting site

This is how to choose the best planting site for your dogwood:

Step 1: Choose a location with morning sun and afternoon shade.

They tolerate full sun, except in the hottest of climates, but too much sun tends to stress them. A stressed tree isn’t as healthy as an unstressed tree, so planting your dogwood in full sun can increase your tree’s chances of becoming sick, infected with fungus, or infested with pests.

Step 2: Plant your dogwood in rich, well-draining soil.

They prefer soil that is slightly acidic, but will tolerate neutral soil as well.

Step 3: Mix compost into the soil at your intended planting site to help with both the richness and the acidity of the soil.

Add some pine needles or coffee grounds to your compost to boost the acidity of it.

Water

Here's how to best water your dogwood tree:

Step 1: Water your dogwood thoroughly after planting it.

Step 2: Water it daily for the first few weeks after planting.

Step 3: After the first few weeks, water your tree once a week in mild climates or every few days in hot ones.

Step 4: Spread a thick layer of mulch around the base of your dogwood.

Mulch is especially helpful in less mild climates, where water may evaporate or freeze more quickly. Any kind of mulch will do.

Step 5: Keep the mulch out of direct contact with the trunk of the tree.

Mulch rubbing against the trunk of your dogwood, especially when it’s still young, can cause abrasions that leave your tree vulnerable to pests and diseases.

Fertilizers

Dogwoods typically don’t need regular fertilizing, particularly during their first year of growth. If you do choose to fertilize your dogwood during the first year, be very sparing with it. It’s easy to over fertilize young dogwoods, which can weaken or even kill them. Once they’ve reached their second year, your dogwood tree might benefit from fertilizer. However, you may want to test your soil first, so you can avoid a build up of nutrients in your soil.

Compost is an excellent choice for boosting your soil with little to no risk of overloading your dogwood with excess nutrients. Compost is generally well balanced and has a little of everything your dogwood will need.

Pests and diseases

Several types of insects prefer dogwoods for shelter or food, including the dogwood borer and dogwood club-gall midge. However, insects pose little threat to healthy trees, except in the uncommon case of extreme infestations. The best way to protect your dogwood from pests is to keep your tree happy and healthy.

Fungal infections are some of the most common problems found in dogwood trees. Fungi enjoy dark, wet, warm environments with poor air circulation. Since dogwoods enjoy partial shade and consistent moisture, this makes them a prime target, particularly during rainy spring months.

The most common fungal infections in dogwoods are:

Mild infections can typically be fought off by a healthy tree, but stressed trees or trees that are repeatedly infected are at risk of more serious damage. Here's how to help your tree fight off a fungal infection:

Step 1: Prune infected, sick, or damaged limbs.

Step 2: Clear the ground around the tree.

Step 3: Prune some healthy limbs to thin the canopy of your dogwood and improve the airflow through the branches.

Step 4: Use fungicide in severe or repeated cases.

Now you know everything you need to plant and care for your dogwood tree. Plant it somewhere with afternoon shade, water it well, and keep an eye out for fungal infections. Everything else is up to you. You can plant a few shade-loving flowers underneath its branches, or put out some nice garden furniture in the shade it provides. Your local pollinators and birds will be sure to thank you.

Editors' Recommendations

planting and care in the open field, pruning, properties, photo

Author: Elena N. https://floristics.info/ru/index.php?option=com_contact&view=contact&id=19 Category: Garden Plants Returned: Last amendments:

Content

Features of the dogwood shrub

The most famous species of this genus is the common dogwood (male), which is a shrub. It reaches a height of 2.5 meters and has glossy orange-red hanging stems. If the shoot is in contact with the surface of the soil, then it takes root quickly enough. Alternate or opposite leaf blades are painted in rich green. Milky-white flowers are part of inflorescences with a five-centimeter diameter. Flowering begins in May and lasts for half a month. Fruits may have 1 or 2 seeds, their ripening occurs in August-October, they may vary in shape and color. In cultural forms, the length of the fruit is three centimeters, as a rule, their shape is elongated-cylindrical, but it can also be almost round, and also pear-shaped or barrel-shaped. As a rule, the color of the fruit is rich red, but yellow, black, pink, and purple are also found. The fruits also differ in their taste, so they can be tart, sweet, sweet-tart, dry or juicy. The dogwood itself can be formed as a bush or as a tree. This is a frost-resistant plant, however, if the temperature drops below minus 30 degrees, then the tips of its stems freeze. A bush of such a plant can live for more than a hundred years.

The most delicious dogwood - "Semyon"


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Planting dogwood

What time to plant

It is recommended to plant dogwood in open ground immediately after the leaves begin to fall. In autumn, planting such a shrub is much better than in spring. The fact is that in the spring you need to have time to plant a seedling in a fairly short time period, namely, when the soil warms up, but the buds have not yet begun to open. For such a shrub, a site located in partial shade and located on the south or south-west side of the garden is well suited. The soil must be saturated with lime, while groundwater should not lie closer than 1. 5 m to the soil surface. Dogwood can also be grown in acidic soil, but at the same time it will develop worse, and the quality of the fruit will noticeably decrease. Between the shrub and any building, fence or other plant there should be a distance of at least 3–5 m. 3–5 min.

Planting dogwood


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Planting

Seedlings used for planting must be 2 years old. They should reach a height of 150 centimeters, and their trunk should have a two-centimeter diameter, while the seedling should have from 3 to 5 skeletal branches. The depth and diameter of the landing hole should be about 0.8 m. When the hole is ready, a stake should be driven into it, which will serve as a support for the seedling. In this case, it is recommended to place the stake on the side from which the wind blows most often. When digging a hole, the top layer of soil saturated with nutrients must be combined with mineral fertilizers and humus, then the resulting mixture must be poured into the center of the planting pit with a mound. It will be necessary to install a seedling on this mound, in which the roots are then neatly straightened. Then the pit should be covered with the same soil mixture, while the root neck of the plant should rise 3–4 centimeters above the soil surface. Water the planted plant using 30 liters of water. After the liquid is completely absorbed, the root neck should be flush with the soil surface. Then it will be necessary to shorten the stems of the plant by 1/3 and tie it to the stake. The trunk circle should be covered with a layer of mulch (humus or dry soil from the lower layer of the earth, which is not so fertile).

Dogwood care

Cornelian cherry should be grown in much the same way as other fruit bushes (for example, barberry or gooseberry). Such a shrub must be watered in a timely manner, weeded, cut, fed, and you also need to regularly loosen the soil on the site. This plant has one feature, namely, there is no periodicity in its fruiting, which means that it produces a crop every year. Harvest for next year is laid from May to June of this year. In this case, flower buds must have time to fully form before the end of the period of active growth, their formation occurs at the same time as the growth of the stems. In this regard, timely watering and top dressing are very important for dogwood.

To prevent liquid from spreading over the soil surface during irrigation, it is necessary to make a furrow around the shrub. This will allow the superficially located root system to be well saturated with water. Water the plant should be moderate, while avoiding stagnation of liquid in the roots. When watering is completed, it is necessary to weed and loosen the soil surface to a depth of 8 to 10 centimeters and in no case more. Until the middle of the season, fertilizers containing nitrogen and phosphorus are used for top dressing. At the same time, from the second half, dogwood is fed for the most part with fertilizers containing potassium (for example, wood ash). Also, the plant responds well to fertilizing with humus or compost. But in order for it to give a good harvest, the presence of calcium in the soil is simply necessary.

Pruning

Dogwood needs systematic pruning. In winter or at the beginning of spring, when the dogwood is still at rest, it is necessary to cut off those branches from the bush that are injured, affected by frost or dried up, since it is on them that pests or pathogenic microbes most often settle. Each time, cutting off a branch, it is necessary to dip the scissors in a solution of bleach (1: 3). If this is not done, then pathogens can easily be transferred to healthy plant tissues. Excessively old shoots should be shortened or cut to the ground, this will stimulate the growth of young stems. It is also necessary to remove the stems and branches that grow inside the shrub. If the bush is grafted, then it is necessary to cut off all the stems located below the grafting site. It is necessary to form a crown in very rare cases, since it naturally has a very spectacular appearance.

Diseases and pests

Dogwood is highly resistant to various diseases and harmful insects. However, dogwood can become infected with a fungal disease such as rust, but this happens extremely rarely. In an infected specimen, yellow spots appear on the surface of the leaf plates. To get rid of this disease, it will be necessary to treat the plant with Bordeaux liquid. Another plant occasionally falls ill with powdery mildew, which is disposed of with the help of colloidal sulfur. And it also happens that dogwood gets sick with spotting, which Bordeaux liquid helps to cope with. Also, a snail bug can settle on a shrub, which is destroyed by spraying a bush with lime, and a multicolor caterpillar can also disturb it, it is killed with Parisian greenery.

Dogwood in the Moscow region

Most gardeners believe that such a plant will not survive in the Moscow region and Moscow, and therefore it cannot be cultivated there. But it's not. Thanks to the labors of breeders, frost-resistant varieties of dogwood were born that can not die even at a frost of minus 30 degrees, in connection with this, the plant can be quite successfully grown even in the middle lane, while it will give a rich harvest. It will be necessary to plant and care for the shrub in the same way as in places with mild winters. However, it happens that in winter the tips of the stems of the plant freeze slightly, and with the onset of spring they will need to be cut. In order to protect a young plant from frost, in the first years of its life it will be necessary to cover it with burlap, while the near-trunk circle must be covered with a thick layer of mulch (humus or peat) for both old and young shrubs.

Dogwood propagation

Amateur gardeners propagate dogwood most often by vegetative methods, but sometimes seeds are also used for this.

Seed propagation

Before sowing, the previously de-pulped stones must be stratified. To do this, they are placed in moistened sawdust or moss, where they should stay for about 12 months, while the environment must be constantly moist. On the cotyledon, the stone does not separate, in connection with this it must be buried in the soil by about 3 centimeters. If the seeds are not subjected to stratification, then the seedlings will appear only after a couple of years, while only a small part of the seeds will germinate. If you sow stratified seeds, then seedlings can be seen in the same year. It is necessary to take care of crops and seedlings as usual, or rather, water, feed, weed in a timely manner, while at first they will need protection from direct sunlight. By the end of the first year, the seedlings will reach a height of only 30–40 mm, and by the end of the second, their length will be 10–15 centimeters. In autumn, two-year-old seedlings can be transplanted into open soil in the nursery. The first fruits on such a plant will appear only after 7-10 years.

Seeds for sowing are taken from wild plant species. After the young seedlings grown from them get stronger, they are used as rootstocks for cultivated species of this plant.

Cuttings

Dogwood can only be propagated by green cuttings, which are taken from bushes no younger than 5 or 6 years old. Lignified cuttings root very weakly. The length of the cuttings varies from 10 to 15 centimeters, they are cut in the early morning from actively growing stems. It should be remembered that each cutting should have 2 pairs of leaf plates and a well-developed growth point. Cut cuttings should immediately be placed in water. When harvesting cuttings, it should be noted that the cut at the bottom should be oblique and pass 5–10 mm below the kidney. Before planting the stalk, all the leaves must be cut off from the bottom of it, and it should be placed for 6–12 hours in a heteroauxin solution (3%). After that, the cuttings should be washed in running water and planted in a shaded place at an angle of 45 degrees. From above, the soil should be sprinkled with washed sand, while the layer thickness is from 7 to 10 centimeters. Then the plantings should be covered with plastic wrap so that between its surface and the handle there is a backlash of 15–20 centimeters. Plantings should be well watered and then make sure that the soil is slightly moist all the time, while the cuttings should be protected from direct sunlight. Watering should be done through a fine sieve, as water must necessarily be sprayed. Under the film, the temperature should not be more than 25 degrees, so if it becomes excessively hot under the shelter, then you need to raise it so that the plantings are ventilated. The cuttings will give roots after 15-20 days, then it will be necessary to start hardening them, which lasts about half a month. When the plant is hardened, the shelter will need to be removed for good, and the cuttings should be fed using liquid ammonium nitrate for this (30 grams of the substance per 10 liters of water). When the next autumn period comes, the plant will need to be planted in a permanent place.

How to propagate by grafting

Budding takes place in August and September, for this, rooted or planted seedlings of wild dogwood are used, which should be 2 years old. As a scion, cultivars of dogwood are taken. Armed with a sharp knife, a cross-shaped incision should be made on the surface of the rootstock, while the depth of the vertical cut should be about 30 mm. From the scion, it is necessary to cut out a kidney with a piece of bark, a petiole of a leaf plate and a small part of the wood. It should be placed in a vertically located incision, while the bark on it must be carefully pushed apart in different directions. To fix the scion, you should use an budding tape, or you can take a simple stationery tape. If everything was done according to the rules, then after 15–20 days the petiole should fall off. In October, the tape is removed. Next, you need to timely remove the emerging shoots of the stock.

How to propagate by cuttings

To obtain cuttings, choose a one-year horizontally arranged arcuate stem. In the spring, after the soil warms up, you will need to dig up the soil around the bush, while adding fertilizer to it. Having leveled the surface of the soil, it is necessary to make grooves in it. Then, in these grooves, it will be necessary to bend and put the stems that you have chosen to receive layering, they are fixed and covered with soil at the point of contact with the ground. Next, you need to pinch the tops of future layers. After green stems up to 10–12 centimeters high grow at the place of fixation with the ground near the layer, they must be covered with earth by ½. After 15-20 days, when the shoots will increase in growth by the same amount, they must again be sprinkled with earth by ½ part. In autumn, or with the onset of the next spring period, cuttings should be cut off from the parent plant and planted in a permanent place.

How to propagate by dividing a bush

This method of propagation is used only when it is necessary to transplant a bush. This can be done in the spring before the buds swell or in the autumn - 4 weeks before the onset of the first frost. To do this, you need to dig a dogwood and cut off all the old branches from it. Then you should carefully remove the earth from the root system, and only then divide the bush into several parts of approximately equal size. At the same time, each division should have good roots, as well as a non-sick and non-injured aerial part. Before planting a delenka, it is necessary to remove the old roots from it, and shorten the remaining ones a little.

In the event that you have planted a rooted plant, it can be propagated by root offspring. To do this, you need to dig up the growth and plant it in a new place. If the dogwood is grafted, then its root growth will grow from the stock. And since wild types of dogwood are often used as a stock, it is recommended to simply remove such shoots.

Types and varieties of dogwood with photos and names

Common dogwood (Cornus mas)

This species is the most popular among gardeners, and you can find its detailed description above. Most Popular Varieties:

  1. Pyramidalis . Its crown shape is pyramidal.
  2. Nana . Dwarf variety with a crown in the form of a ball.
  3. Variegata . The leaves have a white margin.
  4. Aurea . Leaf plates are golden in color.
  5. Aurea variegata . Variegated leaf plates are painted yellow.

White dogwood (Cornus alba)

This is also a fairly popular species that can be found in the wild in Japan, China, Korea, and almost throughout Russia. This shrub reaches a height of 3 meters. Its thin flexible branches are orange-red in color, but there are varieties with brown-red and red-black branches. On the surface of young stems there is a bluish coating. The shape of slightly wrinkled leaf plates is broadly ovate, their length varies from 10 to 12 centimeters. Their front surface is dark green, and the wrong side is whitish. In autumn, their color changes to a dark purple-red. Small white flowers in diameter reach 5 centimeters, they are part of the corymbose inflorescences. Lush flowering is observed twice a year, namely, until the middle of the summer period and back in September. White berries of spherical shape have a blue tint, and they fully ripen by the beginning of repeated flowering. Common decorative forms:

  1. Silver bordered . Green leaf plates have a white-cream border. In autumn, they change their color to carmine red. The bark is red. The bush reaches a height of 2 to 3 meters.
  2. Elegantissima . It has a very high frost resistance and grows quickly. The bush can reach a height of three meters, the stems are red in color, which looks especially impressive in winter. The leaf plates have an uneven cream-colored border, and there are also stripes and specks on the surface.
  3. Siberia Aurea . The height of the bush can vary from 1.5 to 2 meters. On erect stems of red color are pale yellow leaf plates. Flowers creamy white. When the pale blue fruits begin to ripen, re-flowering may begin.
  4. Sibirik Variegata . The bush can reach a height of 2 m. The leaf plates have a wide border, stripes and spots, which are painted in white and cream color. The main background of the leaves is green, while in autumn it becomes purple, and the edging and stripes with spots do not change their color. In winter, the bark on the stems remains coral red. This variety gives a poor harvest, and the bush itself is slow-growing. It is great for small gardens.

Red or blood-red dogwood (Cornus sanguinea)

Under natural conditions, this species can be found from the Balkans to the southern part of Scandinavia and from the lower reaches of the Don to the Baltic, while it prefers to grow in the undergrowth of mixed and deciduous forests, as well as on the shores of lakes and rivers. In height, such a deciduous shrub reaches 4 meters, while its crown is branched. The stems are drooping and may be red, green or purple. The ovoid rounded leaf plates have a rich green front surface with small pubescence and a whitish back surface with dense pubescence. In autumn, the leaves change their color to rich red. Small dull white flowers are part of many-flowered corymbose inflorescences, reaching a diameter of 7 centimeters. Flowering in this species lasts from 2 to 3 weeks. A lot of black berries ripen on the bush, which look very impressive against the background of rich red foliage. Decorative shapes:

  1. Greenest . Stems, leafy fruits and berries are green in color.
  2. Variegata . The height of the bush reaches 4 meters. Variegated leaf plates have a yellow color. Pale green young stems turn burgundy over time. Blue-black berries.
  3. Mitch's Dogwood . There are small spots on the surface of light yellow leaf plates.

Flowering dogwood (Cornus florida)

Homeland is the eastern part of North America. Such a deciduous tree has a dense and spreading crown. Flowering is observed before the opening of the leaf blades. In autumn, the leaves turn deep red. Grades:

  1. Cherokee Chief . It reaches a height of 4 to 6 meters. The color of the bracts is pink-red.
  2. Rubra . The height varies from 4 to 6 meters. The color of bracts can vary from rich red to pale pink.

Dogwood (Cornus stolonifera)

Naturally found in North America, where it prefers to grow on the banks of streams in moist forests, while climbing to an altitude of 450-2700 m above sea level. This species is very similar to white dogwood, but unlike it, a large number of offspring grow near the bush. Such a shrub reaches a height of 250 centimeters, has glossy coral-red stems, rich green leaf plates, milky white flowers, which are part of the inflorescences, reaching a diameter of 5 centimeters. The berries are whitish-blue. Decorative shapes:

  1. White bordered . The White Gold variety is related to it - it is a medium-sized shrub with green leaf plates with a whitish border.
  2. Flaviramea . Such a shrub grows very quickly and has a round shape. The width and height of the bush can reach from 2 to 3 meters. The crown is yellow in winter and spring, and greenish-yellow in summer and autumn. Part of the green leaves in autumn becomes pale red, and the rest does not change its color.
  3. Kelsey . In such a dwarf shrub, the height can reach 100 centimeters, and the width is about 150 centimeters. The bark can be deep green or light red. The leaf plates are green, they do not fly around until late autumn, but at the same time they turn orange or dark red.

Cornus kousa

This species is native to China and Japan. This is a deciduous winter-hardy shrub, the height of which can reach up to 9meters. The bracts are graceful and very beautiful. In autumn, the leaves turn deep red. Grades:

  1. Gold Star . The height of the bush reaches from 5 to 7 meters. On the surface of the green leaf plates there is a yellow pattern.
  2. Milky Way . The bush is quite tall. Bracts are creamy white.

There are also creeping dogwoods, their experts identified them as a separate genus (Canadian and Swedish dogwoods). The genus Svida also stands out, which includes Meyer's and Georgian dogwoods.

Dogwood - cultivars


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Benefits and harms of dogwood

Benefits

As a rule, the literature describes the benefits of dogwood. The benefit of this plant lies in the fact that its berries contain a lot of vitamin C, even more than lemon. And they also have an antiscorbutic effect, in connection with this, a paste is made from such berries for long-distance sailors and astronauts. The fruits also contain tannins, which effectively hold the stool together. These berries are recommended to be eaten by diabetics, as they lower blood sugar levels, and also make the pancreas work more actively, which produces the necessary enzyme. Also, this plant has a choleretic, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, diuretic and astringent effect. The fruits of such a plant improve appetite, normalize digestion, normalize blood pressure, eliminate pain in the head, and improve metabolic processes in the body. This plant is used to treat gout, swelling of the legs, intestinal diseases (for example, dysentery and diarrhea), cystitis, skin diseases and inflammation of the venous vessels. Medicinal properties are available both in the berries of the plant, and in the foliage, roots, flowers and bark.

Popular recipes

  1. Leaf tincture. Combine 200 ml of edible alcohol with 50 grams of finely chopped leaves. The tincture will be ready after half a month, it remains only to strain. Drink 3 times a day, 10-15 drops, diluted with water. The remedy is suitable for the treatment of eczema, skin infections, hemorrhoids, gout, and is also used to get rid of intestinal parasites.
  2. Decoction of berries. Combine 200 ml of water with 1 large spoonful of dried fruit. The mixture should be boiled for a third of an hour over low heat. Then she should brew for a couple of hours. Strained broth should be drunk in ¼ tbsp. with beriberi three times a day before meals.

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