The dogwood is a richly blooming ornamental wood, which stands out in white or pink in summer and even beautifies autumn with its colorful foliage. In order for it to bloom and thrive profusely, however, it requires special – albeit simple – care.
Table of Contents
Find the right location for the dogwood
The flower dogwood prefers balanced proportions. Therefore, it does not tolerate a location with continuous blazing sun, nor with persistent gloomy shade.
A sunny place with wandering shade that is cast by a house or higher vegetation is ideal. Here the shrub or tree gets enough sun for full bloom, but is still protected enough not to lose too much moisture.
Due to its partially expansive size, a stand-alone position makes sense. The dogwood can also be planted under with lush flowering perennials. It can also handle that without any problems and thus creates a wonderfully colorful scene.
Substrate
The dogwood needs a relatively light but humus-rich soil as a substrate. A loamy garden soil that is loosened with sand is recommended.
In addition to texture, a high nutritional content is also required. This is achieved best and cheapest if the substrate is enriched with rotted compost or manure. This addition can be done directly for planting.
plant
Planting a flower dogwood requires preparing the right substrate on the one hand, and waiting for a suitable time on the other.
Spring is really ideal, as the dogwood will still have enough time to form roots and prepare for winter. To do this, you should wait for the last frost.
Planting in autumn is also possible. In any case, it is important that a suitable substrate is selected.
maintenance
The dogwood is very frugal when it comes to caring for it. Regular and appropriate watering is all that is required to cultivate a tree or shrub in a healthy way.
And even this can be made even easier with a simple trick.
The dogwood, on the other hand, is not dependent on fertilization and clippings.
pour
As with the choice of location, balance is required when pouring. Because the dogwood does not tolerate waterlogging or drought.
The substrate should therefore be evenly moist and well-drained. If this is not the case, the earth can be mixed with sand. In any case, it should be kept moist as possible. The sunnier the location, the more often the dogwood should be watered. This step of care can become a daily task, especially on hot days or in windy conditions.
However, if you cannot or do not want to water daily, you can remedy this with a simple measure: mulching. If the area around the trunk is well covered with mulch, this reduces evaporation, the soil does not dry out as quickly and can hold moisture better. This means that the watering process lasts much longer.
Because the flower dogwood has to be watered quite often, the mulch layer is also used up relatively quickly. It should therefore be changed annually. If grass clippings or bark are used as protection, nutrients from the layer migrate into the soil when they are watered through. Mulch fertilizes the substrate continuously.
Fertilize
If the dogwood is supplied with mulch, this layer continuously releases small amounts of nutrients. This means that the fertilization is uniform and so diluted that it is ideal and well tolerated by the dogwood.
Mulching not only simplifies and reduces watering, it also eliminates the need for additional fertilization.
If you want to do without mulching or if you notice reduced growth on the dogwood, you should fertilize lightly and with natural agents. The best option is to again work rotted manure or compost into the soil.
It is completely sufficient to give this dose once a year, shortly before flowering. More only harms the flower dogwood.
With a suitable substrate and a healthy tree, fertilization is basically not necessary. This means that a decision can be made as required.
Substratpflege
Due to the frequent watering and the persistent moisture, the soil around the flower dogwood compacts quite quickly. This can lead to stunted growth or even damage to the roots.
So that it doesn’t get that far in the first place, annual loosening should be on the tree’s care plan. However, you do not have to dig deep for this. It is completely sufficient to work the surface of the soil with a claw and turn it up. If it is found that the plant is in surprisingly hard ground, some sand can be mixed in at the same time. This prevents condensation from occurring again.
Natural fertilization can also be used on this occasion. This makes sense if the tree has been in the same location for many years or shows signs of undersupply.
To cut
The flower dogwood is extremely easy to care for when cutting. Because basically he doesn’t need this measure. Even without this, it will show balanced growth and be able to bring out its naturally beautiful shape.
However, it is still possible to cut it, for example if the tree is a little too big or comes too close to its neighbors. Ideally, the cut of the flower dogwood is done after flowering and is not too radical. Instead, it limits itself to the external instincts that are merely thinned out.
Multiplication
After the breathtaking flowering, reddish fruits develop on the dogwood from the third or fourth year of standing. In shape and color they are remotely reminiscent of a mixture of strawberries and raspberries, but are rounder and firmer.
First and foremost, they are of course beautiful to look at, as they decorate the tree hanging almost in a row. However, they are also necessary for the simplest form of propagation.
To do this, a fruit must be found that contains a stone. Unfortunately, this is not the case for all and depends on whether the berries have been fertilized.
If such a stone – or better still several – is found, it can be removed from the pulp and moved to the house. All you need is a little potting soil. It is also possible to use the same substrate mixture in which the tree thrives.
During the cultivation, the stone and the surrounding soil must be kept well moist. The seed does not differ in this from the adult plant. A sunny or partially shaded place should also be chosen as the location.
Only when the plant is at least eight inches high and well developed can it temporarily wander outdoors. But then only once on frost-free days and in the bucket. Planting out is possible from a height of about thirty centimeters. With such small plants, however, it is advisable to plant the plant in spring.
For the first two to four years, however, the young dogwood is also in good hands in the bucket.
Another possibility of propagation is given by the bush-shaped dogwood. This can be dug up and divided in spring. The daughter plants that are created in this way are then replanted and cared for, as is the mother plant. This type of propagation is quicker and quite easy, but demands a lot from the plant.
So if you want to protect your dogwood, you prefer to tolerate the formation of seeds and use them to grow new plants.
The culture in the bucket
The dogwood grows about 20 to 30 cm per year and can therefore be kept in the tub without any problems, at least for the first few years. The chosen container should, however, be as large as possible so that the roots can spread unhindered. This applies to both the scope and the depth.
The culture in the bucket creates two peculiarities. On the one hand, more frequent watering is necessary even with a layer of mulch, as the dogwood flower is less able to take care of itself. On the other hand, protection is necessary in winter.
Implement
If the dogwood is free in the garden, repositioning should be avoided if possible. Because a change of location only unnecessarily disrupts growth.
A change only makes sense for multiplication and in the event of an unsuitable space. In doing so, however, the most extensive possible root ball should be retained.
This is of course different with the culture in the bucket. If the soil is well rooted here, a larger container is required.
Protection in winter
Most dogwood species are well hardy – even down to temperatures of -20 ° C. In the garden, therefore, they do not need any special protection or additional care. In the bucket, however, they should be placed in a cool but frost-free room. Here it is also necessary to water them every now and then to avoid drying out.
Typical diseases and pests
The dogwood is a robust shrub or tree that knows how to hold its own against diseases and pests.
Only unfavorable conditions in the soil or mistakes in care lead to the fact that the dogwood can wither.
If there are poorly developed flowers, barely noticeable growth or withered leaves, the soil and care should be examined for suitability first. Normally, it is sufficient here to work up the substrate and adjust the care – if necessary. After these measures, the flower dogwood recovers quite quickly and soon shows abundant flowering and lush growth again.
sorts
The flower dogwood or Cornus Kousa is now available in numerous cultivated forms. The actual Cornus Kousa is the Japanese dogwood, which can be found in several varieties. The most popular and most suitable forms are:
- Cornus Kousa Teutonia
- Cornus Kousa Butterfly
- Cornus Kousa Satomi
- Cornus Kousa China Girl
Another species is the Cornus Florida, which can also be found in various cultivated forms.
- Cornus Florida Rubra
- Cornus Florida Cherokee Brave
- Cornus Florida Rainbow
- Cornus Florida Cloud Nine
The so-called Chinese dogwood or Cornus Kousa Chinensis also comes in different varieties.
- Cornus Kousa Chinensis Milky Way
- Cornus Kousa Chinensis Claudia
- Cornus Kousa Chinensis Eurostar
- Cornus Kousa Chinensis Summergames
The main differences between the cultivated forms lie neither in the requirements nor in the required location. Instead, the plants differ in flower color and size. Which variety is used can therefore be based on your own taste. A smaller flower dogwood is of course better for a narrow garden than a large shape.
Conclusion
The dogwood is an ornamental wood that is very easy to care for and has hardly any special requirements. If it is given the right location and sufficient water, it will quickly become an extraordinary eye-catcher with its flowers, fruits and leaves.
