Overgrown Dogwood tree in front of new home! Can I trim tree now?

5 years ago

last modified: 5 years ago

My husband and I bought our first home together last September. We have a decent size dogwood tree in front of our porch. From last year to this year, the tree has grown about 1 feet taller and wider and we have yet to trim it this year.

We had trimmed it last year early fall, early September. This year the dogwood tree only had a few flowers that bloomed, not the entire tree as I have seen around my neighborhood. Could it have been because we trimmed it early Fall?

Now, the tree is a bit out of control. It’s almost the height of the porch ceiling. I would love to trim it now, before it covers up the entire front porch. Is it safe and okay to trim the dogwood tree (now the month of June) before it starts to get too hot?

Eventually, I would love to move the tree to the backyard? When it is a good time to remove it from the front of the house to the backyard?

Any advice & suggestions are greatly appreciated!

Thank you in advance!

Featured Answer

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

5 years ago

Yeah, that is not at all well-sited :-) But I would seriously caution against much pruning. Dogwood trees (C. florida, kousa and various hybrids) react to pruning poorly, producing multiple shoots at virtually every cut. The long term effect is very Medusa-like with a huge congestion of thin, whippy stems. Hard to see when in full leaf but extremely obvious and very unattractive after it sheds its leaves.

Relocate this winter when it is dormant. And site where it can achieve its intended size without any need for routine pruning.

In the meantime I would restrict pruning to as little as you can tolerate.

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Comments (7)

User
Original Author
5 years ago
Thank you for responding! Ahh we trimmed it last year in September maybe that’s why flowers didn’t bloom this Spring. So should I live with it being enormous and wait until Winter? No pruning at all? :/
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bengz6westmd
5 years ago
Agree w/gal, that's simply a poor spot for the dogwood -- too big.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
5 years ago
where are you ...

i am not sure i would try to move a tree that size ... digging is no real problem ... lifting it.. and moving it around the house is a huge problem ... think 2 or 3 foot rootball.. that could easily run a couple 3 hundred pounds ...... and then getting it in the hole.. and moving it around .. for final positioning ... and then the final problem of how do you secure it upright for the 2 or 3 years that is has no roots to hold itself upright ....

when you can simply cut this one flush to the ground ... and use a stump killer and be done with it ...

and if you want one in back.. go buy one for under a hundred bucks ...

work smart not hard .. imo ...

keep in mind.. plants are planted.. to hide the foundation.. NOT on the foundation ... and that was the mistake made here ..

it is also a plus... to not plant things so close that plants stain or keep siding wet .. or if that was a painted surface.. allowing room to paint when it need be done .. btw.. whats the surface below the porch railing ...

put all that together.. and i would not be planting anything right where the stump will be.. and that is why i would forego digging it out ...

you have set yourself firmly in a box .. trying to move it.. think outside that box ...

btw ... one of the problems i see.. is the thing has been sheared into that shape for a very long time .. and it will take years of pruning.. to get it back to a natural form ...

good luck ...

ken
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
5 years ago
Ken's solution for anything too big for the location or in the way is to chop it down. That is always an option but generally not the most favored one....it is your choice :-)

Moving trees or shrubs of that size is a relatively commonplace activity in my business. Yes, it is hard physical work (easier with some heavy equipment!!) and may require enlisting a couple of friends or neighbors to give you a hand but it is certainly doable.
Embothrium
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
The existing geometric outline indicates this specimen was long ago significantly deformed by pruning, surely has an unattractively congested winter aspect. And if the shearing is continued the minimized or eliminated flowering will continue to occur also. Plus even if the tree were now allowed to develop naturally it would then get very much larger than it is now. So if I had just bought this place I would remove it as well.
KennsWoods
5 years ago
Looks like a kousa from the shape of the flowers and bloom time, no matter. By pruning in late summer the way you did, you removed many of this year's flowers, kousa and florida set their buds and hold them over winter, then bloom, much like lilacs and forsythia do. Unless you want a mostly bloomless 'gumball', move the tree away from the house and let it grow naturally...or not.

Overgrown Dogwood tree in front of new home! Can I trim tree now?

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

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Overgrown Dogwood tree in front of new home! Can I trim tree now?

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

Comments (7)

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