If you have a bare dogwood tree (Cornus florida) sitting in your backyard getting ready to bloom again, it’s time to give it a quick pruning to ensure flowers grow on every stem. Pruning your dogwood will ensure it’s healthy and help it grow new beautiful foliage. Knowing when and how to prune your dogwood tree correctly will give you a long-lasting tree in your yard. Depending on how you want your tree to look in terms of how much foliage you want it to have, experts suggest pruning it either in the late winter or early spring right before it begins blooming at the beginning of the season.
Dogwood trees are ornamental and can be grown as shrubs or full-grown floral trees. Their strikingly colorful stems will elevate your yard’s appearance, while their beautiful, fragrant white flowers will stop everyone in their tracks to get a glimpse of your tree. Further, they’ll attract more birds to your yard. Pruning is minimal for dogwoods, but when it’s time, you should focus on removing dead and broken branches to maintain their health and shape since they can grow significantly. They’ll take up a lot of space in your yard if they’re not tamed throughout their life.
Late winter or early spring
Before grabbing your pruners, determine if it’s time to prune your dogwood tree. Most dogwoods should properly be established for three to four years before pruning occurs. You want them to be able to grow to their full potential before trimming their branches. It gives you an idea of what they look like when they’re fully grown. Pruning them while they’re still growing can set them back and make them grow shorter without as many leaves and flowers. Instead, allow a few years to pass before trimming them.
However, if your dogwood tree has reached three or four years, then you’re in the clear to prune it. Luckily, pruning only has to happen once a year, and you get to decide if you want to do it in the late winter or early spring. Typically, the end of February or early March is the best time to prune your dogwood since it hasn’t started blooming. You’ll have an easier time telling which branches need to be cut when no leaves or flowers are growing on the tree. Since dogwoods don’t require a strict pruning schedule, you don’t have to prune them every year. It’s best to trim your tree when you notice dead branches to help it grow a new branch and ensure other branches are receiving adequate air circulation.
Pruning your dogwood
After determining whether your dogwood is ready to be pruned, it’s time to start pruning. To avoid making pruning mistakes, you’ll need small, sharp secateurs for thin branches and a pruning saw for thicker branches. Work from the bottom to the top to get all the overgrown grass or weeds out of the way around the trunk. Then, move up to the center base of the branches. The tiny, thin branches that grow out of the larger branches can be cut since they won’t typically grow leaves or flowers. When the dogwood matures, those tiny branches will be bare, so removing them won’t do any harm. Once you cut off the small branches, work through the larger ones. Cut back areas with dead or broken branches. In addition, branches that are going to grow inward, downward, or upward should be cut because you don’t want them to invade other branches and damage them.
While the best time to prune your dogwood is before it blooms, you can still prune it after it’s flowered. If you notice branches hanging too low, dead branches, or overcrowding, you can prune the tree to ensure it’s receiving enough airflow. You’ll be able to see clearly which areas need more space to grow and what leaves or flowers are invading each other. Some branches enjoy growing in the middle of the tree, which restricts airflow, so ensure those are removed. You can also take the opportunity to cut any branches that give your tree an awkward shape.
