Pruning Kousa Dogwood
schreibdave
10 years ago
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j0nd03
10 years agoRelated Discussions
Pruning Kousa Dogwood
Comments (3)Yeah, it's too young to do any serious pruning, unless you want to make it have one leader. It will fill out itself without shortening the tops. Cutting them like that will make a bush out of it and then at some point you will have to prune it as a tree. Treat it as a tree from the start and things will be a bit easier. Prune to minimize ice and snowload if you want. The layered branches catch a lot of it and I have had damage over the years. They seem to be able to repair themselves rather well though. I have four large ones and about 50 in five gallon pots, and about 50 more small seedlings. I'm about to make some local trades. :-) Here's one of mine in bloom. Mike...See MoreWhen do you prune a Kousa Dogwood?
Comments (6)The recommended time is while they are dormant - late winter or early spring. Dogwoods are among those trees that can leak significant amounts of watery sap if pruned too late in the season. And the rule of thumb is to prune these trees with a very light hand, just removing the three D's, correcting any conflicting branching (unsual because of the paired branching structure) and limbing up if necessary. And the recommendation is to take any cuts back to the branch collar - dogwoods respond to lateral or heading cuts by producing copious shoots at the cut and you run the risk of creating this wild, twiggy, Medusa-looking mess if you prune too heavily. Virtually any source will instruct you that Cornus trees require and should receive minimal pruning....See MoreKousa Dogwood - advice ??
Comments (4)Prune out the right side trunk, and sooner rather than later. The trunk to the right in the picture will be weak and prone to breaking later in the tree's life. Also, it will make the main trunk canopy lopsided so when the weaker one breaks, the tree will not be nicely shaped. There also appears to be some dead limbs on the main trunk. These should be pruned, too. I'll add a link to a good site with information on pruning that shows you how and where to make the cuts. Pay particular attention to the illustration of the branch bark ridge and branch collar and how to make the three part pruning cut. And don't worry about timing for this kind of pruning. Most deciduous trees are pruned in the winter or for those that bloom in the spring, just after blooming. Pruning for the health of the tree, removing dead or diseased wood, and taking out broken branches are best done as soon as you are aware of the problem. Good luck with this. Kousas are beautiful trees and nearly pest free. I hope this one goes on to become a beautiful asset to your landscape. Here is a link that might be useful: VA Tech pruning publication...See MoreKousa dogwood no leaves on top
Comments (4)when you are absolutely sure. that it is dead.. cut off the dead part ... i dont know how spring evolved in your area... but here in MI ... just in the last week.. i have given up hope on this type of thing in my garden .. pic of the structure.. if you want suggestions of how to do it... one thing for sure.. make a few cuts.. to remove height and hanging weight.. before you make the last surgical cut ken...See Morej0nd03
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