On 30/08/2012 16:37, kay wrote:
Mitulove;967773 Wrote:
Well, some of the very new growth is a pinkish colour and the flowers
were very puny and not terribly interesting, so I'm guessing it's one
grown for the stems. We thinned the thing out about a month ago because
it was so tangled and congested and has a terrible mildew problem. It
survived this procedure OK, it seems. It's still about 7'X7'. Is it
vital to wait until winter/spring to cut it back? It would be nice to

Not really. I'd say you could still lop off any unsightly tired old bits
now but remember you will have to look at what is left until it starts
regrowing in spring so aim to leave it looking nicer!

be able to better access the area underneath to plant some bulbs and
whatnot.

I would have thought the soil directly below would be quite dry, and
bulbs would have a hard time competing with the Cornus roots.

Had hyacinths and crocus under mine and they had no trouble growing and
add a splash of colour coming out of winter. I expect other woodland
bulbs would prosper under those conditions too.

Hard part is digging through the tangle of roots to plant them!

--
Regards,
Martin Brown