My Dogwood shrubs have enlivened my Winter garden with a profusion of stems in various shades of red, yellow and orange, but it is getting to that time of year when I must prune them hard to maintain their shape and vigour. If I delay this task too long, the plants will put much of their energy into stems that will soon be cut off and discarded. Better to prune them early so that all their energy goes into stems that will be allowed to develop to maturity.
You can see that with the advent of milder weather the plants are already beginning to produce buds:
The cuttings I planted on 12 January are also doing the same thing, so hopefully several of them will take root.
I think this next photo makes the emerging flower bud look like a miniature cauliflower!
So, sometime over the next couple of weeks I will have to set-to with the secateurs...
P.S. I have recently ordered another Dogwood plant - Cornus Kesselringii - which has black stems. Should be good!
It is great to see that cuttings are also showing some progress. Will you transplant them soon?
ReplyDeleteLove the camera work - and the cauliflower bud!
ReplyDeleteI love dogwoods! One day when I have a PROPER garden, I wanna have loads of them!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos!
Great to see things beginning to shoot isn't it?
ReplyDeleteAna; I do not intend to plant the cuttings until they are strongly rooted - if indeed they do root - so it will probably be some months before they are ready.
ReplyDeleteBlack stems sound nice, don't think i've seen those. I'll have to check my dogwood to see if there are buds, and if so it's time for the chop. Don't you just hate cutting those colourful stems down!
ReplyDeleteI have had Kesselringii in the garden for a few years now, I love the colour of the stems, and problem free just the way I like it.
ReplyDelete