At the back of the yard, I also have a native Gray Dogwood (Cornus racemosa Lam.). This is not the dogwood tree that most folks are used to seeing, with the large white or pink blooms, and red dogwood “apples.” The Gray Dogwood is a native shrub with clusters of light yellow fruits that some birds eat. In its native form, like the lilac, it spreads primarily vegetatively by root suckers. How far it will spread, forming a thicket, I do not know. But, I do know that it will form dense, wooly thickets that make very good wildlife cover. But, this may not be very attractive in a lot of landscapes. This is especially true in a smaller yard. Allowing any plant to form thickets in a small landscape, will make the space feel much smaller. But, with judicious, yearly pruning, and pruning as needed throughout the year to remove sprouts, the Gray Dogwood that normally grows along the semi-shady edges of forests, can be trained into an attractive small tree. One of the traits of this tree that is pretty typical of the entire Cornus species, which includes apples and crabapples, is that it that will form primarily along branches and around the base of the trunk. Water-sprouts typically shoot straight up from where they emerge, without branch, or with very little branching. Water-sprouts contribute nothing to the tree or shrub, and simply suck energy out of the plant. It is always best to remove these all the way to the base. It is a mistake to think that these can be pruned into a useful branch, because they are what they are, and will never make a good branch, and in a fruit producing tree, they will not bear fruit.
Posted on: Sat, 20 Sep 2014 16:17:23 +0000
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