Cornus florida

Is there anyway I can safely grow one near a anthracnose infected one? Would one of the newer blight resistant ones be helpful and if so where does one find them? We have an incredibly old and beautiful dogwood in the front yard infected but I would like to get another growing in the backyard some time before the day I will sadly have to remove the tree in the front. Part of the reason we bought this house was that tree... I actually cued the realtor in to point out "that lovely dogwood out there" he thought I was nuts till my husband looked and voiced his pleasure lol. Dogwoods are a favorite of mine as well as hubby's.Don't tell me to cut it down because my battle is futile, I know it is but this tree is worth trying to prolong it's life; it's that pretty all seasons, great shape and still has tons of blossoms come spring and the birds still flock to it for the berries. Colleen Ann Zone 5 CT

Reply to
GrampysGurl
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I would tend to discourage you against planting a new Cornus florida. I fear that in the end you will spend a good deal of money with poor results. You may have a fighting chance with Cornus kousa (Korean Dogwood) X Cornus florida hybrids, as they tend to have more of a resistance to anthracnose and powdery mildew, but there are no guarantees. Here's a nice factsheet from the university of Rhode Island on the subject:

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far as your infected Cornus florida, you maybe able to prolong the inevitable with general sanitation and fungicides. Here's a nice factsheet on dogwood anthracnose Washington State University Master Gardeners:

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for the huge link, the site uses frames. You can got to the root of the site here:
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Ornamentals >> Dogwood

Another good site is :

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Reply to
Timothy

All Cornus florida are infected with anthracnose. It exists as a constant background pathogen-- the problem is when certain enviormental/pathological events trigger a bloom and rampant attack on a geographic area, at which time the tree (usually already stressed) begins to succumb. Here in the Midatlantic region, naturally occuring as well as nursery stock Cornus florida are being decimated by the disease.

Ways to mitigate include:

-proper irrigation: watering during periods of drought

-proper soil pH: dogwoods thrive in MAWD (moist, acidic, well-drained) soil high in organic content. Studies have shown that higher pH levels reduce the likelihood of disease outbreaks.

-good nutrition: a thin layer of microbial-rich compost and composted cow manure will do wonders.

Vigilantly maintain the integrity of the tree's rootzone-- dogwoods have their rootsystems quite close to the surface, and they can't tolerate much if any disturbance (no digging bulbs, for example).

Keep infected leaf litter swept up as well-- don't compost infected leaves.

Reply to
David J Bockman

:::sigh::: I thought that would be the answer I would get.... Thank you for all the information, I will check it out later this afternoon. I do spray the tree as often as I possibly can get around to it and I do rake and remove before every mowing. It's just heartbreaking to see what happens to these lovely trees. I'm not sure what I will replace it with, maybe a magnolia.... I love the form of my tree, it branches out close to the ground but has a huge open spread. Thank you again. Colleen Ann Zone 5 CT

Reply to
GrampysGurl

Don't feel like you have to grab the saw just yet 80) Anthracnose can be 'controlled' to the most part, as long as this tree is not overly infected. If the tree is of substantial size, if the tree does not have substantial damage, then you have a rather fair chance of pulling this tree back from death. Generally I wouldn't recommend a massive spray campaign due to it's cost and time commitment, but seeing that you have an emotional attachment to the tree, this may be alright with you.

Before you grab the spray can, try to assess the over-all health of the tree. If the tree is generally in good health, the over-all damage is low, then it's time to start walking. It's quite futile to try to manage your fungus outbreak if there are other infected trees in the neighborhood that are not being treated. The spores are blowing in the wind sure, but if you have an anthracnose factory three doors down that isn't being managed, your attempts to manage your outbreak will be all for not.

If you find more occurrences of anthracnose after peeking over the neighbors fences, then it might be more adventagous to plant resistant trees and take out the infected ones.

Good luck to you and your tree.

Reply to
Timothy

Here in city areas of Zone 5, Cornus kousa is a beautiful replacement which blooms a month later than florida. A couple of years ago, I planted one of the Rutgers hybrids with pink flowers. It hasn't done much yet, but it is certainly sturdy. Iris, Central NY, Zone 5a, Sunset Zone 40 "A tree never hits an automobile except in self defense." - Woody Allen

Reply to
Iris Cohen

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