Enjoy dogwoods for longer
Inspired by visiting winter gardens, I have established a large bed of white birch (Betula utilis jacquemontii) and dogwoods – Cornus ‘Midwinter Fire’, ‘Kesselringii’ and ‘Flaviramea’ – in blocks of colour. Following advice on a horticultural course, I prune the cornus in early April, not in February/March as advised in many gardening books and in your December issue.
Even if the buds are beginning to break, pruning later means we can enjoy the brilliantly coloured stems for another month during early spring, and the plants don’t suffer!
Hilary Mathison, Wiltshire