Silky Dogwood Question

I have finally figured out what kind of tree/shrub I have in my yard. After a few years of scratching my head I've finally nailed it as a Silky Dogwood. It is multi-trunked and when I first moved in it was completely overgrown with vines as was half of my yard. It was so tangled I had no idea what it might be. Eventually I de-vined it and found lots of broken limbs (I thought it was from the weight of the years of vine growth). I cut back 1/3 of the trunks at a time over three years and it grew back in leaps and bounds.

My question is - now that it is regrowing, it seems that it has very weak limbs/trunks that break in half here and there. They seem to break in a good storm or a bit of wind. I guess it wasn't the vines. Is this something that will just require continual removal of broken branches or is there something I should be doing as far as pruning, feeding, watering or cutting back that would help the tree/shrub maintain its trunks and branches better.

I've read that it is not uncommon for the branches to droop down to the ground. It would be nicer if they would stand up a bit so I could plant underneath but really it's just the breaking trunks that I'm concerned about. I cut another one out this weekend.

Anyone have experience with this one? It's pretty in bloom and has very cool bird attracting berries. It also screens out my (annoying) neighbors very thoroughly.

Sue

Hello Sue,

What color are the berries? If they are blue they are most likely Silky Dogwood but if they are white your bush could be Red-Osier Dogwood. I have found Silky to have more erect growth and Red-Osier with arching growth that is brittle with age. Which ever you have pruning out the older more mature stems will help the appearance and promote suckers to grow. Is it possible that they are suffering from being shaded by trees? I have found that these species don't compete well with trees and need more direct light.

David

David,

Completely blue berries. That is one of the ways I was able to finally and definitely identify it. I did think it was a Red-Osier at first because it does have red twig ends but definitely has steel blue berries. It gets a really good amount of sun - more than six hours. I guess I thought that by pruning out the old growth (1/3 at a time over three years) that I would be rebuilding the foundation of a stronger plant but I guess not. All of the growth is new (within three years). Do you have any idea how "old" a stem would be before it would be considered "old" and in need of a trim? The tree has much less mass than when I first started working on it. It was a big umbrella shaped dome before and now ... not so much.

Also, I have really sandy soil, do you think more water would help compact growth or make it worse? We are installing a still pond right near the dogwood and I'm considering allowing some runoff towards it if it would help.

I will try to get a picture as soon as I am home during daylight hours this week.

Thanks for taking the time to write. Any thoughts are REALLY appreciated.

Sue

David just said pretty much what I was going to say, but he did it better and faster! If you're dealing with rank-growing suckers, that might be the reason they're floppy. Head them back informally to varying lengths, and don't fertilize, and see if that helps next year.

Guy S.

Gray dogwood is more common around here than silky and I have found "clumps" that have gone into decline. I believe that this has been due to the age of the clone (all one plant due to suckering of original seedling). So maybe your bush is at the end of it's normal lifespand.

Here's a photo (albeit blurry) and I arrowed a branch that is typical of the tipsy nature of this thing.

Guy - I have no idea how long this tree has been here but there was an owner who seems to have had a garden originally planted 20 or so years ago with some updating but it was mostly left to overgrow. By heading them back to you mean cutting them back to a first branch or second branch junction? Have never fertilized and the soil is so sandy it holds practically nothing in the way of nutrients.

David - hope this thing isn't at the end of its life because it's a nice anchor for the corner of this new pond. I'm not sure how I would figure that out though. I suppose if nothing I try keeps the branches from breaking I should give up after some point.

Sorry for the crappy photo. It's rare for me to get home - or leave for work - with enough daylight for good pics.

Plenty of vigor there, so no need to worry about that at least. Just cut back those floppers to a fork, far enough back to remove enough weight that they will stand up, or else cut them out completely.

Guy S.