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Keywords: Cornus, Cornus nuttallii, Cornus florida

PAL Question:

This is regarding the Eddie's White Wonder Dogwood that I planted 22 years ago. It bloomed the first three springs after planting and then stopped blooming until this spring. It is planted at the edge of a woodland, facing south. It received summer watering the first few summers while it was getting established. Then it did not get much watering in the summer, noting the advice in the Sunset Western Garden Book regarding Cornus nuttallii, part of Eddie's cross: "Give infrequent summer water." I did water it more last summer, as it was so hot and dry out in eastern Woodinville. And it finally bloomed! My question--Do you think that the bloom this spring was the result of more water during the summer, or did the tree have to reach a certain age to start blooming each spring?

View Answer:

There are several reasons that Dogwoods fail to flower. Flowering dogwood does need regular water, according to Sunset’s 2001 edition. Other possibilities might be the age of the tree, and extreme temperatures, such as cold, which may kill the buds.

I would suggest continuing to water and see if it flowers again next season.

Following are more detailed descriptions of some of the causes of failure to flower: Temperature:

From Michigan State University Extension:

    If the plant is old enough, the growing conditions may be too poor to allow flowering. Plants that require full sun, for instance, may grow but fail to flower in the shade…. Cold winter temperatures may kill the flower buds. This often happens to…flowering dogwood... Nothing can be done to prevent this type of injury.
(Source: http://www.msue.msu.edu/imp/modzz/00001659.html)

From the University of Vermont Extension System:
    Temperature, particularly cold temperature, plays an important part in the flowering of many plants. When winter temperatures drop extremely low, flower buds may be killed and the plant flowers sparsely….The flower buds of flowering dogwood will quite often have the two outer bracts (petals) injured during the winter so that the resulting flower has only two bracts rather than the usual four. If you suspect that excessively cold temperatures are the cause of your plant's failure to flower, examine the plant closely in the spring for brown and dead flower buds which may still be present.

Alternate Flowering:

From the University of Vermont Extension System:
    Alternate flowering): Plants, such as some flowering crabapples and flowering dogwood, are subject to a phenomenon called alternate flowering. This type of plant will frequently flower very heavily in one year and then fail to flower for one or two additional years. This is a natural phenomenon. Selection of plants which do not exhibit this tendency would be the best way to correct this problem.
(Source: http://www.uvm.edu/~pass/perry/oh40.html)

Why Won’t It Bloom:

Also, according to 1000 Gardening Questions & Answers from The New York Times, Dogwoods may not bloom because of:
    1. Over fertilizing - creates excessive foliage
    2. Excessive Shade - need at least 4 to 5 hours a day and more sun means more flowers
    3. Frosts or droughts - at the wrong time (Dogwoods need lots of moisture and we have had several years of drought)
    4. Pruning - removing the flower buds unintentionally

Season All Season
Date 2008-01-24
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Keywords: Birch, Cornus, Gleditsia, Juglans, Pruning, Prunus

Garden Tool: A common question gardeners have is when to prune. "When the shears are sharp!" is the often-heard answer. In reality there are a few timing guidelines that do matter.

First of all, certain trees are known to "bleed" when pruned while the sap is rising in late winter and early spring. Maples, dogwoods, birch, elm, walnut and honey locust are the most common.
Bleeding usually won't hurt the tree, but the pruning cuts are slower to heal which may leave susceptible trees vulnerable to infection. These trees should be pruned right after leaves fall off in autumn.

Cherry trees are at risk from the destructive cherry bark tortrix. The tortrix is attracted to fresh pruning cuts, so cherry trees should not be pruned between May and August when the tortrix is active.

Spring flowering shrubs should be pruned immediately after flowering so that the new growth has time to form next year's flower buds. Summer flowering shrubs may be pruned in winter because flowers are formed on this season's growth.

Pruning resources online:

Season: All Season
Date: 2007-05-17
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October 13 2009 09:13:54