Newsday
Jessica Damiano is a master gardener and journalist with more than 25 years of experience. Here she answers a Newsday reader’s question about a dogwood with diminished blooms.
Q: I have two dogwood trees in my yard, and in the past two springs they have produced very few flowers. It breaks my heart, as I love these trees. They were both Mother’s Day gifts from my family. Is there something I can do to help them and bring them back to their May glory?
A: Dogwood trees (Cornus) require well-draining, fertile soil and partial shade in order to thrive and bloom best. Because of these needs, they are considered understory trees, which means that in the wild, such as forests, they typically are found growing under larger trees, which provide shade as well as nutrients from hummus in a soil produced from the fallen leaves of their neighbors. They do require some sunlight, but too much or too little certainly would impact blooming.
I see larger trees in the background in your photo and wonder whether they have been cut back recently, which would have increased the amount of sunlight that reaches the dogwoods and could be affecting the number of flowers they are producing. If, on the other hand, you notice the surrounding trees have grown larger and there is now more shade than in the past, consider thinning surrounding trees to allow filtered sunlight. Other sources of dense shade would be an extension added onto the house or another new sun-blocking structure.
Pruning at the wrong time of year — winter or early spring for dogwoods — removes buds that would be flowers.
Another consideration is fertilizer: If the dogwoods are sited in or near a lawn that receives nitrogen fertilizer, it’s likely the nitrogen is forcing the trees to route their energy toward growth at the expense of flower production. When fertilizing nearby lawns, avoid the soil area from the tree’s trunk extending outward under the tips of the farthest-reaching branches, which is referred to as the “drip line” of the tree.
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