cornus dogwood

Hi All

I bought a house with a mad and overgrown shrubbery out the front. I've finally tamed it - working for an hour a week for six months filling over 30 green bins and 12 sacs of shredded branches! I wish I had taken some before and after shots! Time has come to replant some of the gaps.

My question is about a dogwood (an unknown red branched variety) which was so neglected/overgrown/shapeless that I just cut its branches to soil level at the start of November. I understand from the forum that it should start growing again - sending up some new branches.

When should I expect it to start growing again? I want to work out if I've killed it or not as I would like to keep it.

Sorry for the long post. Thanks in advance. :cnfs:

 

It should be growing new branches and growth now. Not sure about cutting down to ground level in November - I always thought you need to wait until late winter/early spring, but they're supposed to be tough so it'll probably be ok. Is there any sign of life yet?

 

No signs of life yet. I did have to have a go at it aggressively... my shrubbery was a real beast!

 

I planted one only this winter in January and like you I was worried about it not showing signs of life, but its now covered in lots of growth. I won't be cutting it back until next Spring though.

 

I've had some and I have always cut them to about a foot, and in early spring (so that I have the benefit of the red branches during the winter). They take on the appearance of a pollarded mini-tree after a few years - thick stem, knobbly head, from which sprouts the new branches.

But I agree that they are tough, so I expect it will appear in due course - don't abandon it until next Autumn at the earliest - no telling with plants "how" dead they actually are.