Flowering Dogwood - cornus florida

[defra]

Cool i planted one in the ground to grow out a bit thicker going to follow this with intrest

 

[Owen Reich]

Ok, so I did some research and there is a product called ShortStop that is a giberellic acid inhibitor. Energy is sent to roots instead of shoots, causing shorter internodes. Found someone who has used the product, and they "may have applied too much" once, causing the tree to remain almost static in appearance for a few years regarding shoot elongation.

Rainbow Tree Care developed the product, but there are some generics out there if you can track them down. I'll post something here or in a new thread if I can find a source; perhaps I should use the word supplier....

 

[Johnnyd]

Any updates.? I picked one up recently because of the bark. I'm interested in what works best for increasing the ramification. I have noticed that catapillers love the leaves.

 

[Pitoon]

I have a bunch in my backyard and eyed out one or two I may chop this winter and pull before spring. I like dogwoods for the fact that even younger trees have that rough bark and they backbud easily.

Post update pics if you have any.

 

[VAFisher]

Unfortunately, the only update I have on this tree is that it's as dead as fried chicken. It never really got going strong last year and was pretty weak going into winter. Then it just never woke up this spring. I was bummed about this one because I really liked the base and the trunk. Oh well, I'll probably try again at some point. There are plenty of them around.

 

[Pitoon]

Sorry to hear that! Get some marking tape and tag some trees now to chop during winter?

 

[Johnnyd]

Unfortunately, the only update I have on this tree is that it's as dead as fried chicken. It never really got going strong last year and was pretty weak going into winter. Then it just never woke up this spring. I was bummed about this one because I really liked the base and the trunk. Oh well, I'll probably try again at some point. There are plenty of them around.

Sorry to hear about your Dogwood. Mine was real slow until I put it in partial shade. Then it started to thrive. Hopefully I can reduce the long internodes over time. Good luck on finding one to replace it. I did read on one site they are prone to die back if chopped in the winter. I'm going to try to reduce next spring when buds are swelling. I started treating mine like a Japanese maple and sprayed the leaves with a diluted hydrogen peroxide solution that was recommended by Osoyoung on maples. So far so good. Fungus and bugs can be problematic. Best luck!

 

[just.wing.it]

R.I.P.

 

[Javaman4373]

I found this flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) today and thought it might be a candidate for lifting in the spring. The death of the specimen that the OP described was not encouraging however. This tree has no limbs with foliage for 4 or more feet from its base, so it would have to be chopped at some stage. The exception is one small stump sprout. The base is about 3 inches in diameter. The roots are interesting and comprise two large lateral roots and one going what looks like straight down. There was a small tree growing right beside it that I chopped off already. If you folks think it is worth a try, I am game. Should it be chopped in late winter and then lifted in early spring? Anything that can be done in the meantime to prepare?

 

[Forsoothe!]

For those of you interested, gibberelins are one of the 7 plant growth hormones. We talked about auxins and cytokinins in the air-layer thread.

Over 100 different gibberelins have been identified, but the bio-active ones are GA1, GA3, GA4, and GA7. I am surprised to read what Owen has to say because gibberelins normally stimulate cell elongation and create long internodes. Perhaps too much has an opposite effect?

See also Paclobutrazol, which is a gibberelins inhibitor (and growth inhibitor). Use it on your bonsai... but not on food crops where its use is illegal.

no sound?

 

[Forsoothe!]

I found this flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) today and thought it might be a candidate for lifting in the spring. The death of the specimen that the OP described was not encouraging however. This tree has no limbs with foliage for 4 or more feet from its base, so it would have to be chopped at some stage. The exception is one small stump sprout. The base is about 3 inches in diameter. The roots are interesting and comprise two large lateral roots and one going what looks like straight down. There was a small tree growing right beside it that I chopped off already. If you folks think it is worth a try, I am game. Should it be chopped in late winter and then lifted in early spring? Anything that can be done in the meantime to prepare?

As long as you have the time, chop it now in the ground and coach it along for as long as it takes to look like it will survive when you dig it.

 

[defra]

As long as you have the time, chop it now in the ground and coach it along for as long as it takes to look like it will survive when you dig it.

in addition to @Forsoothe! only chop it in the ground when it will recieve enough light down there. otherwise it might give up, i made that mistake once its not for nothing that the growth is so far away from the soil.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

You likely will have better luck if you dig, chop and repot all on the same day, in early spring. Pre-pruning, before hand often results in dead or weaker trees. Collect before leaves open in spring.

Cornus florida, flowering dogwood is a forest understory or forest edge species. It will need afternoon shade after collection. Keep it moist and use the same deciduous media that you would use for Japanese maples.

 

[sorce]

dead as fried chicken

Where do YOU buy YOUR fried chicken?

Sorce

 

[VAFisher]

Where do YOU buy YOUR fried chicken?

Sorce

I'd rather collect it than buy it. Haha.

 

[sorce]

I'd rather collect it than buy it. Haha.

So it IS alive! Lol!

Sorce