Once you’ve cut all this back you should be left with the thinner fresher growth. Step 2: Remove diseased, damaged or crossing wood So let’s cut them back to 3- 4 inches above soil level. Usually, they will only have growth near the top. These are the thicker more established stems. It’s around 20 years old and has never been properly pruned! Step 1: Cut back all thick woody growth back to the ground. The version I’m going to show you is Cornus sibirica and is in a really bad way. If pruning a well-kept Cornus, a pair of secateurs is usually sufficient. All you need is a sharp pair of secateurs, a set of loppers for thicker stems or a wood saw if needed. You’ll be pleased to know that pruning Dogwood is relatively straightforward. sanguinea ‘Midwinter Fire’: Yellow-orange-red winter stems alba ‘Kesselringii’: Dark purple-black stems in winter, purple foliage year-round sericea ‘Flaviramea’ AGM: Lime green winter stems alba ‘Sibirica’ AGM: Bright red stems in winter, red autumn leaves Firstly because you get the vivid stems a bit longer, and secondly, it’s a bit less stressful for the plant as it is already in active growth. The older school of thought was to do this in January, but based on experience and the RHS’s revised guidance, late March is better. This is when their new growth starts to emerge. The following Cornus should be pruned late March to early April here in the UK. I coppice or prune mine every other year and give them a good mulch afterwards. Mainly because it is such a stress on the plant that it can actually become very thin and sickly looking. Some guides advise that you hard prune Cornus each year, but I would advise against this. See how congested the large Cornus sibirica shrub is behind me? This needs pruning. A prune at the right time can help renovate and reinvigorate an otherwise lacklustre shrub. If your Cornus is a tangled mess of crossing stems, then it is definitely time to prune them back into some form of order. You can either fully ‘hard’ prune them back to the ground or selectively remove 1/3 of the oldest stems, depending on the size of the shrub. Then it’s time to hard prune them each spring to enable fresh growth before winter. I recommend leaving these alone until they are about 3 years old and becoming more congested and woody. This young Cornus alba ‘Elegantissima’ above doesn’t need pruning – see more in the video guide above So they already have their bright colours intact. This is because they are still establishing themselves and their stems will probably be flexible and pencil-thin. If you have newly planted shrubs that are a year or two old, you probably don’t need to coppice them just yet. How to know when to prune Cornus?īefore we start whipping out the secateurs I do need to say a bit about when to hard prune (coppice) Cornus shrubs such as Cornus sibirica or Cornus flaviramea. subscribe, make a purchase) after clicking a link, I may earn some gardening commission which helps me keep the Garden Ninja Blog free for all. This page contains affiliate links for products I use and love. What soil type does Cornus/Dogwood prefer?.How to take hardwood cuttings from Cornus.How to know if your Cornus needs pruning?.This guide will show you how to hard prune a Dogwood to ensure that each winter, you have the brightest stems and a vigorous dogwood shrub.
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