I see on Google that Dogwoods are free-bleeders. OK.
I made several pruning cuts on a dogwood yesterday. I went by it this morning and it is dripping from all of them. Most of all from the end of a pruned branch less than 1" diameter.
The dogwood leaves have already turned red -- the temp is still running lower 50s to lower 70s (zone 7a).
Should I wait until winter is here to continue pruning the dogwood or just ignore the bleeding?
FACE
Wait until the tree is fully dormant - after complete leafdrop and couple of hard frosts. FWIW, I'd avoid ANY excess pruning on a dogwood - they do not appreciate it and generally respond with unattractive medusa-like growths of multiple shoots at most pruning cuts. Limit pruning to removal of dead or diseased wood or conflicting branches. And if the tree is infected with anthracnose to any degree, pruning tends to exacerbate the development of the disease.
pam - gardengal
Thank you.
I did not plant the tree at it's present position 10 feet from the corner of the house but it is in the yard of a house I have had 8 years and was planted by the previous owner.
I have seen the medusa-like growths at the end of pruned dogwood branches. Not aesthetically pleasing to be sure. :-) However, since the tree has outgrown it's location, I am looking at removing it entirely or bringing it into conformity with the yard-size. As an experiment, i choose the latter.
Another dogwood in the neighborhood has been done the same way. I noticed the other day that the leaves are growing directly off of the main branches.
I took note of your comments on the possibility of disease attacking it after pruned. Literally most dogwoods in this area succumbed to a blight some 18 or so years ago, so most are younger than that. This one is not near other dogwoods and the closest possible infectee is a bradford pear some 25 feet away -- another that I gave $2 for before K-Mart threw it in the dumpster. I know of the brittleness of that tree, besides it's susceptibility to Southern Fire Blight, so i am not worried about it. (I lost another Bradford pear ($40!) in another yard to Southern Fire Blight as diagnosed by the now-effectively-defunct county extension service.)
My experiment with the dogwood (and others mentioned previously), like all experiments, comes down to a binary situation -- it either works or it doesn't. Besides, if it does not survive it will be much easier to take down. :-)
Since it is too tall for it's position, I will be making a crown cut, what shape should that be? Or should I cover the wound?
Thanks for your input, it is appreciated,
FACE
Hey Pam, A dogwood has a pretty bad case of anthracnose starting at about 4 ft up the trunk. I cut it down at ground level. New shoots sprout from what's left of the stump. What's the chances the shoots will develop into a healthy tree??
Bob S.
If you must prune it, shape to form a gently rounded or domed canopy. No sealers - allow the tree to heal the wounds on its own. Make clean sharp cuts at growth nodes or where smaller branches emerge from larger ones. Don't leave stubs.
And just because there is no evidence of dogwood anthracnose in the immediate vicinity does not mean your tree will not contract it. They are not sure exactly what vectors the fungus but its presence is very widespread. Stressed trees will be highly susceptible and yours will certainly fit into that category if you embark on a major pruning project.
pam - gardengal
Not sure what you're going to get, as I have never seen this tried - cutting back to a stump and allowing it to regrow from basal shoots. For one, probably not a very attractive tree - shoot growths from stumps will not grow into a true "tree form" - there is no single leader or primary growth point. You will most likely get a more shrubby looking form. Anthracnose is a foliar disease so while the new growth could appear clean for a period of time, there is no guarantee it will remain so, specially if other dogwoods in the area are infected.
Is there a reason you don't remove it entirely and replace with a more disease resistant species or hybrid?
pam - gardengal
I hadn't realized dogwoods grow back from stumps or rootcrowns in any permanent way, but if like suckering trees they do so, then my guess, akin to yours, would be they'd behave much as broken-off maples which can grow back as large upright bushes that after a couple decades still look like bushes. This could be very attractive for a dogwood, though no longer looking like a tree. It would obviously be just as susceptible to the murderous ugly affects of anthracnose though. Also named cultivars are nearly all grafted, & for those, what grows back from the root-crown might not be the same species or flower color.
Our native western dogwood was always one of my sentimental favorites because one of the very first trees I learned to recognize as a toddler (that & monkey-puzzles which were seemingly designed by god to attract the eyes of wee children). The only reason I don't have a western dogwood or two is I won't plant anything so certain to get a disease. And what a tragic disease. The newly developed eastern dogwoods that fight it off with complete success won't benifit the western species, though there have been some indications among British Columbia wild populations that the western dogwood may also make a comeback someday.
-paghat the ratgirl
I had earlier mentioned that i had a vitex (chaste tree) to prune, I have that particular tree/woody bush because of the reason you cite. The local nursery (not K-Mart) said that it was resistant to most local diseases and the vitex replaced the blighted bradford.
FACE
Do you mean Cornus nuttallii for the western dogwood? I bought one from a UK nursery about 7 years ago and planted it in my Scottish garden (as a nostalgic remembrance of time spent as a UK citizen living for a while in the US). Every year it gets some brown areas on the leaves soon after they emerge, and some leaves dry out and get shed, but newer leaves emerge during the summer that survive until normal leaf drop in the autumn (fall). The tree has put on sturdy growth each year (now at about 7 ft high) and has produced a vey small number of white bracts in the last couple of years, so I am still wondering if it is healthy, or is dealing in its own way with a possible anthracnose infection from its source supplier. I also have a much smaller Cornus florida (about 4 ft high) that was bought more recently (about 4 years ago) that shows somewhat similar behaviour, although no bracts yet, but even so there is no sign of impending doom at the moment. This was the colourful tree (white or pink bracts) in spring that was prevalent in Knoxville, TN where I lived for a while in the 70s. I am curious to know if the anthracnose infection is likely to be prevalent in trees sold in the UK. I must admit that I have not seen much evidence of these species being sold in nurseries here in more recent years, after the time when I got my trees, but mine are not showing signs of serious distress at the present time.
Geoff (Dundee, Scotland)
Has anyone heard the old advice that when pruning a tree or shrub, rub the wound with your thumb and fingers; supposedly the natural oils from the hands help the tree seal its wounds and discourage entry from predators or disease.
~flick
On Wed, 27 Oct 2004 12:46:35 -0400, paghat wrote
The house where I grew up (in Gainesville, FL) had two circles of dogwoods just past the carport. It was obvious that they had been two trees, cut, resprouted. I don't know whether the trees were cut when my parents built the house or before or after. I was only 7 at the time, and the lot was uninhabited prior to their acquisition of it. But my earliest memories of those dogwoods are of their being large enough for me to climb in, which makes it sound like the trees were cut earlier. Or perhaps they died or were broken by wind and yet still managed to sprout from the stump.
Now, from the above you get my drift: these did develop into full sized dogwood trees. In fact, they have been, oh, I'd guess about 30' tall for as long as I can remember. The house is now 48 years old. The dogwoods are clearly senescent and have lost a few of the trunks, but they keep on going. Just a month ago they escaped damage when a large hickory, 2' diameter, fell on my mom's carport, destroying the carport but damaging neither the two cars underneath nor the dogwoods.
So yes, they can sprout from the stump and grow into full sized trees, even several on one stump. Whether this is typical, I can't say. Have you seen second-growth redwoods that sprouted from the stumps of first-growth cuts? It's similar on a much smaller and less vigorous scale.
Edward
I have dozens more(all wild). This one just happened to be in a nice location near the house. I was wondering if anthracnose would enter via the cut stump, thus affecting new growth. If so, I'll just mow the new shoots. BTW, many warnings exist about transplanting wild dogwood from rural to urban areas because of anthracnose. Ignoring the warning, I moved one several years ago and so far it's healthy and thriving. Went from
3' to 15' in just a few years. But I'm sure this the exception rather than norm.Bob S.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.