Greg Bowman: Dogwoods in Georgia
One of the more popular landscape items in the area is the flowering dogwood. The flowering dogwood is native to the eastern United States and can be found throughout Georgia. One key to growing success is planting the dogwood in the correct location in the first place. One fact to note is the actual flower on the dogwood. What most consider the flower of a dogwood tree is actually bracts. The true flower is in the center of the bract and is not as visually appealing. I will be sharing information on dogwoods from a revised UGA publication by Bodie Pennisi.
The planting season for dogwoods is dependent on how you purchased the dogwood. Container grown dogwoods can be planted anytime if they are watered correctly. The B & B, or balled and burlapped trees and bareroot dogwoods, need to be planted when they are dormant. That time would be from November to March.
The importance of the correct planting site cannot be underestimated. The best situations are when dogwoods are planted with larger trees that will give the dogwood moderate shade. Think about when you go on the Sunday drive to see dogwoods when the bracts are showing off. In nature, you will see dogwoods growing under hardwoods and pines. That is why they are called an understory tree.
You can see growth issues when they are planted in hot and dry exposures. I remember as a young agent in Bartow County being called out to look at a dogwood problem for a homeowner. The problem was easy to figure out. This young dogwood tree was planted in full sun with small rocks being used as mulch. To add to the problem, there was a lot of cement just beyond the small planting area. This young dogwood was burning up. On the flipside, you do not need to plant dogwoods in dense shade because this can result in poor flowering.
I will add that dogwoods can adapt to different soil types, but prefer moist and fertile soil that is high in organic matter. They must be planted in areas that will drain excess moisture well, too. Pennisi states the primary demands are good soil drainage and protection from drought.
Improper soil preparation at planting can lead to issues with dogwood establishment and slow growth.
Research data states that maximum growth is achieved when a large and wide planting hole is dug and the backfill soil is worked well. When planting, make sure the top of the root ball is level with the soil surface. Then you will backfill with the same soil that you removed from the hole. Make sure to bust up soil clods and remove rocks and other debris.
Stay away from adding organic material in the planting hole. With the heat and the drought, we have a lot of compacted soils in the area. If planting in these compacted soils, keep in mind the importance of large planting hole with loose backfill soil.
Proper watering is key and mulch can be beneficial with dogwoods. Our information stats that adequate watering in the first two growing seasons may be the big factor to determine if the dogwood lives or dies. It is suggested to water the dogwood completely 1 to 2 times per week during dry times.
Make note to not over-do-it on water either. Watering too often can lead to root rot. You also need to water in dry fall months. Keep in mind that most of the tree roots are in the top 12 inches of soil and can go several feet beyond the tree canopy.
Mulch can play a helpful role. Mulching a wide area under the tree can help insulate the roots from heat and cold and can also conserve soil moisture. Pine straw, pine bark and fallen leaves at a 3- to 4-inch depth is suggested.
I would like to go back a step and talk about dogwood selection. Most of the dogwoods planted in Georgia are the white-bracted native dogwoods that were grown from seed.
There are many vegetative produced options on the market now. They are more expensive normally, but are known to flower earlier in age and be more showy per our info. Some varieties with white bracts are Barton, Cherokee Daybreak, Cherokee Princess and Cloud 9 to name a few. Pink or red bract varieties are
American Beauty Red, Cherokee Chief, Cherokee Sunset, Junior Miss and Stokes Pink.
No matter the variety, you need to choose a healthy appearing tree with good form. Do not purchase stress appearing trees or ones with visually seen damage to the stem. A container grown dogwood should have healthy looking white roots that are not pot bound.
Our info adds that you should select bareroot and B & B trees with roots that have been protected from drying out by means such as “heeled-in” in moist sawdust or some other type organic matter. Make sure you follow recommended fertilizing plans and know about common pest issues for dogwoods.