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Cornus alternifolia
Among the finest issues in life are layered: ogres and onions, desserts and parfaits, complicated and well-written characters… I may go on and on.
However one plant buries all these different issues below its personal layers of aesthetic awesomeness: the pagoda dogwood tree.
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Alongside lush foliage and exquisite blooms, Cornus alternifolia has tiered, starkly horizontal branching that contrasts fantastically with vertical strains within the panorama, resembling adjoining tree trunks and close by buildings.
They’re not too powerful to develop, fortunately. By following just a few easy pointers, anybody can kickstart the rising course of in their very own gardens.
And in case you’re right here studying this information, that “anybody” may very well be you!
Prepared so as to add an unimaginable dogwood to your assortment? Then let’s get to it.
Try what we’ll cowl:
What Are Pagoda Dogwoods?
The pagoda dogwood – aka Cornus alternifolia – is a small deciduous tree from the dogwood or Cornaceae household.
Hardy in Zones 3 to 7, this species hails from the jap half of North America, rising in forests, alongside stream banks, and in fields as far north as Newfoundland, as far west as Minnesota and Arkansas, and as far south as Alabama and Georgia.
Flaunting a flat-topped crown, this tree grows 15 to 25 toes tall and 20 to 32 toes large at maturity, and has very distinct horizontal branching.
The branches – virtually parallel to the bottom, with loads of vertical house in between – give the tree a layered, multi-tiered look. These layers look very like a pagoda, therefore the identify.
The species identify alternifolia refers back to the alternate association of the pagoda dogwood’s leaves.
The one different Cornus with alternating leaves is C. controversa, aka the large dogwood, desk dogwood, or wedding ceremony cake tree.
Talking of leaves, pagoda dogwood foliage is fairly textbook for a dogwood: oval-shaped and inexperienced, with a tapered apex and opposing leaf veins that run parallel to the leaf margins.
Come fall, the foliage turns a reddish-purple hue, typically with yellow or inexperienced tints.
In contrast to flowering dogwoods and kousa dogwoods, pagoda dogwoods lack the traditional leaf bracts which resemble flowers.
As a substitute, they produce small, pale yellow, aromatic blooms that emerge in Might to June.
By late summer season, the flowers give approach to fruits: blue-black drupes atop crimson stalks. These fruits present sustenance to birds and different wildlife.
Cultivation and Historical past
To know the historical past of the pagoda dogwood, we should discover its “roots” inside the Cornus genus.
Cornus consists of 58 numerous tree, shrub, and rhizomatous herb species, that are distributed throughout Eurasia, North America, northern South America, and sub-Saharan jap Africa.
Inside the genus are 4 clades of dogwoods: the blue- or white-fruited sorts, the big-bracted ones, dwarf varieties, and cornelian cherries.
With its blue-black drupes, the pagoda dogwood is a starring member of that first clade.
As a Cornus, the pagoda dogwood produces a fine-grained and dense lumber, which is beneficial in making instrument handles, golf membership heads, loom shuttles, and different small gadgets which require energy and influence resistance.
Ecologically, the tree supplies cowl and meals for quite a lot of birds and herbivorous mammals.
In conventional Chinese language drugs, the pagoda dogwood has been used as an analgesic, diuretic, and tonic.
And naturally, this species is often put into use within the panorama for its engaging, horizontally-branching type.
Propagation
To propagate a pagoda dogwood, it’s finest to take action from seed, cuttings, or by way of transplanting… however attributable to its fibrous, spreading root system, it is best to solely do the latter of those when the plant may be very younger.
From Seed
To propagate seed, you’ll clearly want mentioned seeds. Fortunately, accumulating them from native specimens is a fairly straightforward course of.
When the fruits ripen to a blue-black hue in late August to mid-September, both hand-pick them or jostle them from the tree onto a sheet that you simply’ve specified by advance.
Use your fingers – or a blender, within the case of huge batches – to take away the pulp from the seeds. The seeds are powerful and hardened pits, so don’t fear about damaging them.
Place your pagoda puree in a big container of water to separate the pulp and skins from the seeds.
Any non-viable seeds will float together with the waste, whereas the viable ones will sink to the underside. Hold the viable seeds and discard the remainder.
To be able to keep viability, the seeds shouldn’t be allowed to dry out previous to planting. You may both plant them instantly that fall, or stratify them indoors till the next spring.
For the latter, put the seeds in a moist, 50:50 mixture of sphagnum peat moss and perlite, and hold them refrigerated till spring.
Planting time? Sow the seeds a half-inch deep in fertile, well-draining, and partially-shaded soil outside.
House the seeds as far aside as you count on them to unfold at maturity, so about 20 to 32 toes aside, relying on the range.
Upon sowing, water them in, and hold the seeds moist as they germinate and sprout.
For many seeds, this’ll take just a few months, however some may take two years or extra to germinate. Be diligent and keep affected person!
From Cuttings
Cuttings extra your velocity?
Come summer season, use a sterile blade to take four-inch lengths from the terminal ends of semi-hardwood shoots. Be sure that every chopping has a few nodes and some leaves.
Defoliate the underside half of every chopping earlier than dipping them right into a rooting hormone.
For such a product, Bontone II IBA rooting powder from Bonide is the right selection. It’s out there at Arbico Organics.
Bontone II Rooting Powder
Stick the hormone-dipped ends of your cuttings right into a seed-starting tray crammed with a 50:50 mixture of sphagnum peat moss and perlite.
Hold the cuttings a pair inches aside, moisten the medium, and hold the tray close to a sunny window.
Hold the medium moist whereas roots type. In six to eight weeks, examine the cuttings for root improvement by giving them a tug.
If they’ve robust roots, repot every chopping into its personal four-inch container, crammed with an analogous medium. Of their new containers, proceed to offer solar publicity indoors and hold the media moist.
Come spring, rooted cuttings are prepared to start out hardening off. Transfer them outdoors and expose them to full or partial solar for 30 to 60 minutes earlier than bringing them again inside.
Every day to comply with, add a further 30 to 60 minutes till the cuttings can deal with a full day’s publicity, after which they’ll be prepared for transplanting into the backyard!
By way of Transplanting
As said earlier, transplanting is just advisable for propagules or younger crops, because the fibrous root system of a big pagoda dogwood could be a actual ache to transplant.
Dig the transplant holes in regards to the depth of and a bit wider than the foundation techniques.
Transplants that come potted in soil needs to be gingerly faraway from their containers, then gently positioned into their holes.
If the roots are certain a bit, slice an “X” into the underside of the compacted root mass with a pointy and sterile blade.
For naked root transplants, construct up a mound of soil within the gap, decrease the transplant into the outlet, after which unfold the roots out over the soil mound.
Backfill with soil, tamp all it down, and repeat as wanted. Water within the transplants.
Add two to 4 inches of mulch to the foundation zone – whereas leaving the foundation flare uncovered – and hold the foundation zone moist because the transplants develop and develop into established.
The right way to Develop
You may’t have an architectural pagoda and not using a plan, and the identical goes for a pagoda dogwood.
Observe the suggestions beneath and your pagoda dogwood bushes will develop and look their finest.
Local weather and Publicity Wants
In the beginning, you’ll wish to plant these bushes inside USDA Hardiness Zones 3 to 7 to make sure their survival.
Since pagoda dogwoods are usually understory bushes, inserting them in wind-protected websites will help them keep away from harm.
Windbreaks resembling close by buildings or strains of coniferous evergreens would work completely for this goal.
Mild-wise, partial shade is finest. Full solar works in cooler climates. In any other case, you’ll actually must carry on high of your irrigation.
Soil Wants
Plant in well-draining soil to make sure that the plant’s root zone isn’t waterlogged. Oversaturated soils can simply result in root rot.
An acidic soil pH of 5.5 to six.5 can be advisable.
Irrigation and Fertilization Wants
A pagoda dogwood’s soil needs to be stored moist for optimum development. This implies watering every time the highest inch or two of the soil feels dry to the contact.
A naturally moist and well-draining space is an excellent higher spot, and one that may spare you some further irrigation efforts.
Fertile soil can be ideally suited, so be sure you work a pair inches of humus into the foundation zone every spring. Compost, well-rotted manure, and even inexperienced manures (i.e. cowl crops) are all unbelievable choices.
Rising Suggestions
- Partial shade is right, however full solar works as nicely.
- Present well-draining soil with a pH of 5.5 to six.5.
- Hold the soil moist by watering every time the highest one to 2 inches of soil really feel dry.
Pruning and Upkeep
A devoted session of pruning needs to be performed in early spring, earlier than the primary flush of latest development.
Your objective with shaping a pagoda dogwood is to intensify its layered and tiered aesthetic, so take away any branches that time sharply downward or upward to emphasise the parallel branching.
Any diseased, broken, or lifeless branches will be pruned everytime you occur to note them. No matter when and the way you prune, use sterilized instruments!
Moreover, it is best to keep the layer of mulch you established earlier. A pagoda dogwood’s root system is shallow, and these bushes can simply lose water in heat, sunny, and windy climates.
Together with moisture retention, mulch aids in weed suppression and sustaining cool soil temperatures, so mulch up!
When you so need, rake up any dropped leaves in autumn.
A woodland planting seems to be good with some close by fallen foliage, whereas a pagoda dogwood that sits in leafless turf seems to be fairly fly… and in both case, eradicating leaf detritus will help to stop pest and illness points.
In chilly winters, ice harm could be a downside. If the load of the ice partially breaks off a department, the harm needs to be pruned away as soon as the ice melts in spring. Fallen branches needs to be tossed onto the comb pile or disposed of.
Cultivars to Choose
To purchase a pagoda dogwood, it is best to undoubtedly take a look at your native plant nurseries or on-line plant outlets.
Pagoda Dogwood
When you want ready-to-transplant specimens from a good vendor, lo and behold these dangerous boys from Nature Hills Nursery.
However I’d be remiss if I failed to supply alternate forms of the alternate-leaf dogwood, so listed below are 4 unbelievable cultivars to select from!
Argenta
For a shrubby model of the pagoda dogwood with white-variegated foliage, look no additional than ‘Argenta.’
Measuring 10 to fifteen toes tall and 12 to twenty toes large, ‘Argenta’ matches the place a normal C. alternifolia received’t, and does so in model.
Bachone
Not sufficiently small for you? Behold ‘Bachone’ aka Gold Bullion. It’s eight to 10 toes tall and large, with golden foliage that flaunts specks of inexperienced, and flashes of crimson alongside the yellow in fall.
As an additional advantage, white-topped flower cymes break up what some might take into account to be “an excessive amount of” yellow. As if such a factor exists.
Black Stem
You is likely to be curious to know what’s so particular about ‘Black Stem.’
Effectively, it’s proper there within the identify! At a peak of 25 toes, ‘Black Stem’ stands tall with darkish stems, which may look menacing throughout the leafless winter months.
For the emo gardener, ‘Black Stem’ is the right planting.
W. Stackman
For these in search of top-tier branching and foliage, ‘W. Stackman’ (aka Golden Shadows) is stacked.
With a peak and unfold of 10 to 12 toes, ‘W. Stackman’ has leaves that emerge in crimson come spring, and go on to flaunt a light-weight inexperienced to yellow variegation on the margins.
The branches are starkly horizontal, so its layered type is kind of emphasised.
Managing Pests and Illness
Thankfully, this plant is deer-resistant. Sadly, that’s the place a pagoda dogwood’s resistance just about ends. Listed here are just a few pests and illnesses that may trigger issues.
Bugs
Creepy-crawlies are annoying sufficient on their very own, however while you additionally take into account their capability for vectoring pathogens? It’s all of the extra cause to have stable pest management methods in place.
Dogwood Borer
After rising from eggs laid by their wasp-like clearwing moth mother and father, Synanthedon scitula larvae are poised to strike.
And strike they do: the larvae begin consuming the inside bark and cambium, which may result in untimely leaf drop, kill particular person branches, and reduce total plant vigor.
In time, the feeding harm can kill younger bushes.
Together with correct cultivation from the get-go, watch out to keep away from pointless damage to the tree, since eggs are sometimes laid in wound openings.
Making use of permethrin in early Might, with repeat functions each three weeks till autumn, will assist to handle these pests.
Is your tree too far gone to save lots of? Then eradicating and disposing of it’s your solely remaining choice.
Leaf Miner
Leaf miners are the larval stage of quite a lot of sawflies, wasps, and beetles, recognized to reside inside and eat plant foliage as they mature.
As they feed, they depart behind whitish tunnels that may mix to type bigger blotches, which reduces photosynthesis and aesthetics.
Any infested plant leaves needs to be eliminated ASAP. Since leaf miners can infest close by weeds as nicely, controlling and eradicating them will depart your tree much less susceptible.
Close by entice crops resembling columbine will help lure leaf miners away out of your pagoda dogwoods.
Diglyphus isaea is a wasp parasite of leaf miners that may be efficient in administration when launched early within the season.
Leaf Miner Parasite
They are often bought in massive numbers from Arbico Organics.
Sprays of spinosad on plant surfaces will successfully poison and kill any larvae that feed on them inside a day or two.
Making use of three to 4 sprays, unfold equally all through the rising season, is a stable technique.
Bonide Captain Jack’s Deadbug Brew
Spinosad is accessible as a focus or in ready-to-spray bottles from Arbico Organics.
Be taught extra about the way to handle leaf miners in our information.
Scale
These small, round-bodied pests suck the phloem from infested plant tissues, which may result in chlorosis, diminished vigor, and an unpleasant look.
Moreover, they secrete honeydew of their wake, which may result in the event of black sooty mildew.
Branches with massive infestations will be eliminated. Direct functions of insecticidal cleaning soap or horticultural oil are additionally efficient for management.
Illness
Many illnesses will be prevented with sanitary gardening practices. Sterilizing your instruments, utilizing clear soils and pathogen-free crops – each good behavior helps.
Dogwood Anthracnose
Brought on by Discula destructiva, this fungal illness additionally goes by the identify discula anthracnose. If this illness is new to you, simply know that the species identify is kind of on level.
Preliminary signs manifest as small, tan leaf spots, which regularly turn into bigger blotches with purple to brown margins because the illness progresses. Drooping and blighted leaves may also end result.
The illness works its manner up the stems, branches, and trunk, leaving cankers in its wake.
The girdling and demise of contaminated tissues may end up, and all of this will culminate in plant demise over time.
Any cankered or lifeless branches needs to be pruned, and close by leaf detritus needs to be raked up and disposed of.
Fortunately, the branching behavior of this plant supplies satisfactory airflow, so no further pruning is required in that regard.
When sprayed with fungicides in early spring, new development stands a higher likelihood of avoiding an infection.
Take away and get rid of any contaminated bushes which are past saving.
Fungal Leaf Spot
Sometimes occurring in moist summer season situations, fungal leaf spots in pagoda dogwoods are primarily brought on by species of Septoria and Cercospora cornicola fungi.
Each kinds of pathogen trigger small, irregularly-shaped spots, that are bordered by leaf veins. Septoria spots are darkish brown, whereas Cercospora spots are extra of a tannish-brown hue.
Fungal leaf spot isn’t deadly, but it surely received’t depart a tree trying its finest.
Raking up and disposing of fallen leaves assist to stop the overwintering and subsequent unfold of the fungi, whereas functions of fungicides are usually wanted to regulate extreme infections.
Golden Canker
Brought on by the fungus Cryptodiaporthe corni, golden canker might infect pagoda dogwoods in quite a lot of situations year-round.
It’s a illness that completely infects alternate leafed dogwoods – an honor that I’m positive the tree doesn’t respect.
There are just a few unknowns in regards to the illness. First, it’s not fairly clear precisely how the pathogen infects the tree, although entry by way of wounds and pure openings is the main concept.
Moreover, the fungus can truly reside inside the plant with out doing harm, so the precise the explanation why the pathogen makes the swap from benign to malignant are nonetheless unclear.
Contaminated bark turns a shiny yellow to tan coloration, whereas small raised orange bumps develop on the bark’s floor.
Cankers first seem on the department suggestions and progress downward because the an infection spreads to bigger stems and branches.
Contaminated branches might fail to leaf out come spring, whereas canker-girdled branches can wilt and die.
The one recognized efficient manner of managing golden canker is to prune diseased branches.
Be sure you make your cuts inside a centimeter above a wholesome node that’s a minimum of two nodes beneath any contaminated bark.
To cut back the quantity of spores produced inside the cover, one of the best time to prune contaminated branches is throughout dormancy in subfreezing temperatures. Upon getting your pruned-away branches, burn or bury them.
Greatest Makes use of
When you think about the gorgeous tiered branching of a pagoda dogwood, it undoubtedly qualifies to be used as a specimen in your house panorama.
Moreover, you possibly can place these bushes in groupings or use them as a border alongside the sting of your property.
As an understory forest tree, the pagoda dogwood seems to be beautiful in woodland gardens. Because it attracts a plethora of fauna, you’ll actually encourage species variety within the ecosystem!
Fast Reference Rising Information
Plant Kind: | Deciduous tree | Flower/Foliage Shade: | Yellowish-white/inexperienced |
Native to: | Jap North America | Upkeep: | Low |
Hardiness (USDA Zones): | 3-7 | Tolerance: | Deer, lean soil, juglone |
Bloom Time: | Might to June | Soil Kind: | Moist, fertile |
Publicity: | Full solar to partial shade | Soil pH: | 5.5-6.5 |
Time to Maturity: | 2-6 years | Soil Drainage: | Effectively-draining |
Spacing: | 20-32 toes | Attracts: | Birds, butterflies, mammals |
Planting Depth: | 1/2 inch (seeds), depth of root system (transplants) | Makes use of: | Grouping, shrub border, specimen, woodland backyard |
Peak: | 15-25 toes | Order: | Cornales |
Unfold: | 20-32 toes | Household: | Cornaceae |
Water Wants: | Average | Genus: | Cornus |
Widespread Pests and Ailments: | Dogwood borer, leaf miner, scale; dogwood anthracnose, fungal leaf spot, golden canker | Species: | Alternifolia |
Alternate Leaves for an Alternate Look
When you’re eager about “branching out” with layered branching, it is best to actually give the pagoda dogwood a go.
It’ll actually draw the attention of onlookers, and who is aware of? It could develop into your new go-to suggestion for people trying so as to add some pizzazz to their panorama.
Now that you’ve the lowdown on the pagoda dogwood, go forth and develop! Unfold your wings and fly! Different enthusiastic encouragements!
Have remarks, questions, and/or considerations to share? Put ’em within the feedback part beneath!
Attempting to fill your panorama with extra deciduous bushes? Ask, and also you shall obtain:
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