23-06-2003, 11:56 AM
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Pruning Red Twig Dogwood
(paghat) wrote in message ...
In article , "Joseph Meehan"
wrote:
Is it a good idea to cut this thing back to a few inches after it has
had several years without any trimming?
What is the proper method of annual trimming and what is the proper
method to handle an older overgrown plant?
If you mean the American redtwig C. stolonifera = C. sericea, when not
pruned this will flower well & berry profusely, but get large & by some
assessments leggy (I prefer "large & fountaining"). Spring-pruned
specimens have much brighter red or golden young stems come winter, & a
more compact appearance for spring through autumn foliage, but also very
few flowers & berries.
Pruning is not necessary for health, but only to increase youthful limbs
with brightest winter color. It can have a third pruned out of it every
other year & probably still berry nicely. If hard pruned entirely or
annually, forget berries; I don't know why anyone would shoot for the
stunty spidery shrub that results. [...]
It should be done about March or April. If done later in spring, it won't
injur the shrub, but it won't look like much in winter, so might as well
wait until next March.[...]
Maybe the above also applies to the old world red-twig, but I don't have
that so not certain.
Yes, same rules for European Cornus alba as for American C.
stolonifera.
If your climate's right, with reasonable moisture in the summer, you
get a very good effect with the coloured bark -- not "stunty spidery"
at all. An established plant with several dozen bright wands standing
up is a striking sight to cheer a winter's day. Just depends what your
design needs. I have two big dome-shaped ones as punctuation either
side of my drive, and prune those only when they overhang too far; but
a row of hard-pruned ones in another spot.
Mike.
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