Cornus alternifolia
Some of the best thing in life are layered : monster and onions , cakes and parfaits , complex and well - written characters … I could go on and on .
But one plant life buries all those other things under its own layers of esthetic awesomeness : the pagoda dogwood tree tree .
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Photo via Alamy.
Alongside lush leafage and beautiful rosiness , Cornusalternifoliahas tiered , starkly horizontal ramification that contrast beautifully with perpendicular lines in the landscape , such as adjacent tree trunk and nearby buildings .
They ’re not too tough to arise , gratefully . By follow a few simple guidelines , anyone can kickstart the growing process in their own garden .
And if you ’re here read this guidebook , that “ anyone ” could be you !
Photo via Alamy.
quick to add an incredible cornel to your collection ? Then let ’s get to it .
chequer out what we ’ll cover :
What You’ll Learn
What Are Pagoda Dogwoods?
The pagoda dogwood – akaCornusalternifolia – is a lowly deciduous tree from the dogwood tree or Cornaceae kinfolk .
Hardy in zona 3 to 7 , this species hails from the eastern half of North America , growing in forests , along stream banks , and in field of operation as far north as Newfoundland , as far west as Minnesota and Arkansas , and as far in the south as Alabama and Georgia .
show off a directly - topped cap , this tree grows 15 to 25 feet magniloquent and 20 to 32 foot wide at maturity , and has very distinct horizontal branching .
The branches – practically parallel to the ground , with mess of vertical blank in between – give the tree a layer , multi - tiered look . These layer look much like a pagoda , hence the name .
The species namealternifoliarefers to the alternate placement of the pagoda dogwood ’s folio .
The only otherCornuswith jump leaves isC. controversa , aka the giant dogwood tree , tabular array cornel , or wedding bar Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree .
address of leaf , pagoda dogwood foliage is pretty textbook for a dogwood : ellipse - shaped and green , with a tapered apex and opposing foliage veins that lean parallel to the leaf perimeter .
Come drop , the foliage turns a reddish - purple hue , often with yellow or light-green tints .
Unlikeflowering dogwoodsandkousa dogwood , pagoda dogwood miss the classic leafage bracts which resemble flowers .
Instead , they bring out modest , pale yellow , fragrant heyday that come forth in May to June .
By late summer , the flower give way to fruits : blue - disastrous drupes atop red angry walk . These fruit render sustenance to razz and other wildlife .
Cultivation and History
To sympathize the chronicle of the pagoda cornel , we must search its “ solution ” within theCornusgenus .
Cornusis composedof 58 various Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree , shrub , and rhizomatous herbaceous plant specie , which are distribute across Eurasia , North America , northern South America , and sub - Saharan eastern Africa .
Within the genus are four clades of dogwood : the blue- or white - fruited kind , the boastfully - bracted one , dwarf multifariousness , andcornelian cherries .
With its puritanical - black drupes , the pagoda cornel is a star appendage of that first clade .
As aCornus , the pagoda dogwood get a fine - grained and dense baseball bat , which is useful in make tool handles , golf game club head , loom shuttles , and other small items which need strength and impact impedance .
Ecologically , the tree provides cover and food for a variety of doll and herbivorous mammals .
In traditional Formosan medicine , the pagoda cornel has been used as an analgetic , diuretic , and tonic .
And of course , this coinage is commonly put into use in the landscape for its attractive , horizontally - branching form .
Propagation of Pagoda Dogwoods
To propagate a pagoda cornel , it ’s best to do so from seed , cuttings , or via transplanting … but due to its fibrous , spread etymon organization , you should only do the latter of these when the plant is very young .
From Seed
To disseminate seed , you ’ll obviously want suppose seeds . gratefully , collect them from local specimen is a jolly soft process .
When the fruits ripen to a disconsolate - shameful hue in late August to mid - September , either hand - pick them or shove them from the tree onto a sheet that you ’ve repose out in advance .
expend your hands – or a blender , in the compositor’s case of large batches – to remove the pulp magazine from the seeds . The seeds are tough and indurate pits , so do n’t worry about damaging them .
Place your pagoda puree in a large container of water to separate the pulp and skin from the seeds .
Any non - executable ejaculate will blow along with the wastefulness , while the viable ones will drop to the bottom . Keep the viable seeds and discard the balance .
In club to preserve viability , the seed should n’t be allowed to dry out prior to planting . you’re able to either plant them immediately that fall , or stratify them indoors until the next spring .
For the latter , put the seeds in a moist , 50:50 intermixture of sphagnumpeat mossand perlite , and keep them refrigerate until spring .
Planting meter ? Sow the seeded player a half - inch deep in fat , well - draining , and partially - shaded soil outdoors .
Space the seed as far aside as you expect them to spread at due date , so about 20 to 32 feet aside , depend on the variety .
Upon sowing , irrigate them in , and keep the seeds moist as they germinate and sprout .
For most germ , this ’ll take a few months , but some might take two years or more to develop . Be persevering and stay patient !
From Cuttings
newspaper clipping more your f number ?
add up summer , use a uninspired blade to take four - column inch lengths from the last end of semi - hardwood shoot . Ensure that each newspaper clipping has a couple of node and a few leaves .
Defoliate the bottom half of each cut before dipping them into a rootle hormone .
For such a product , Bontone II IBA rooting pulverization from Bonide is the perfect choice . It’savailable at Arbico Organics .
Bontone II Rooting Powder
Stick the hormone - dip ends of your cuttings into a seed - start tray filled with a 50:50 commixture of sphagnum peat moss and perlite .
Keep the cuttings a couple inch apart , drizzle the medium , and keep the tray near a sunny window .
Keep the medium moist while roots form . In six to eight weeks , check the cutting for ascendent development by giving them a tug .
If they have strong roots , repot each thinning into its own four - column inch container , filled with a similar sensitive . In their new containers , continue to cater Lord’s Day exposure indoors and keep the media moist .
do fountain , frozen cuttings are ready to start hardening off . Move them outdoors and expose them to full or partial sun for 30 to 60 minutes before bring them back within .
Each day to follow , add an additional 30 to 60 minutes until the cut can manage a full twenty-four hours ’s exposure , and then they ’ll be ready for transplanting into the garden !
Via Transplanting
As put forward earlier , transplanting is only recommend for propagules or young plant life , since the fibrous ascendant organisation of a large pagoda dogwood tree can be a real pain to transplant .
labor the transplantation holes about the astuteness of and a bit wider than the root systems .
Transplants that come potted in soil should be gingerly take out from their containers , then lightly placed into their maw .
If the radical are bind a bit , slit an “ tenner ” into the bottom of the compacted root mass with a sharp and uninventive blade .
For bare antecedent transplant , build up a pitcher’s mound of soil in the hole , get down the transplantation into the hole , and then spread the roots out over the soil mound .
Backfill with soil , tamp all it down , and repeat as needed . Water in the transplant .
Add two to four inch of mulch to the root zone – while leaving the root flare pass exposed – and keep the root zone moist as the transplants mature and become established .
How to Grow Pagoda Dogwood Trees
You ca n’t have an architectural pagoda without a program , and the same go for a pagoda dogwood .
Climate and Exposure Needs
First and foremost , you ’ll want to plant these trees within USDA Hardiness Zones 3 to 7 to ensure their selection .
Since pagoda dogwood are typically understory Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree , placing them in wind - protected sites can aid them avoid damage .
shelterbelt such as nearby structure or line ofconiferous evergreenswould operate perfectly for this intent .
Light - knowing , fond tad is best . Full Lord’s Day works in cooler climates . Otherwise , you ’ll really have to keep on top of your irrigation .
Soil Needs
Plant in well - run out filth to ascertain that the plant ’s root zone is n’t waterlogged . Oversaturated soils can easily head to root rot .
An acidulent soil pH of 5.5 to 6.5 is also advisable .
Irrigation and Fertilization Needs
A pagoda cornel ’s dirt should be kept moist for optimum increment . This mean watering whenever the top inch or two of the soil feels dry to the touch .
A naturally moist and well - draining area is an even good daub , and one that can spare you some extra irrigation efforts .
prolific soil is also ideal , so be certain to work a duet inches of humus into the root geographical zone each spring . Compost , well - rotted manure , or evengreen manures ( i.e. cover crops)are all tremendous options .
Growing Tips
Pruning and Maintenance
A consecrate session of pruning should be done in early leap , before the first flush of young growth .
Your goal with forge a pagoda cornel is to punctuate its layered and tiered aesthetical , so murder any branches that point precipitously downward or upward to emphasise the parallel branching .
Any pathologic , damaged , or drained branch can be pruned whenever you happen to notice them . Regardless of when and how you snip , apply sterilize tools !
Additionally , you should asseverate thelayer of mulchyou show sooner . A pagoda dogwood ’s root system is shallow , and these Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree can well lose H2O in warm , cheery , and verbose climates .
Along with moisture retention , mulch aids in weed quelling and keep coolheaded soil temperature , so mulch up !
If you so desire , glance over up any put down parting in autumn .
A forest planting wait upright with some nearby fallen leafage , while a pagoda dogwood that sit in leafless turf looks pretty rainfly … and in either causa , removing leaf debris can help to prevent plague and disease issue .
In cold winter , ice damage can be a problem . If the weight of the ice partially break up off a branch , the damage should be prune away once the sparkler melt in spring . Fallen branch should be throw out onto the brushing atomic pile or disposed of .
Cultivars to Select
To purchase a pagoda dogwood , you should definitely fit out your local plant glasshouse or online flora store .
Pagoda Dogwood
If you require quick - to - transplant specimen from a reputable vendor , lo and behold these bad boy fromNature Hills Nursery .
But I would be remiss if I miscarry to declare oneself alternate varieties of the alternate - leaf dogwood tree , so here are four fantastic cultivar to take from !
Argenta
For a shrubby version of the pagoda dogwood tree with white - variegate foliation , search no further than ‘ Argenta . ’
Measuring 10 to 15 foot improbable and 12 to 20 substructure wide , ‘ Argenta ’ fits where a standardC. alternifoliawon’t , and does so in mode .
Bachone
Not small enough for you ? Behold ‘ Bachone ’ aka Gold Bullion . It ’s eight to 10 understructure grandiloquent and wide , with golden leafage that flaunts specks of William Green , and newsbreak of red alongside the yellowness in descent .
As an contribute benefit , white - topped prime cymes break up what some may consider to be “ too much ” chickenhearted . As if such a thing exists .
Black Stem
You might be peculiar to fuck what ’s so special about ‘ Black Stem . ’
Well , it ’s right there in the name ! At a summit of 25 foot , ‘ Black Stem ’ stands tall with dreary stem , which can expect menacing during the leafless winter months .
For the emo nurseryman , ‘ Black Stem ’ is the unadulterated planting .
W. Stackman
For those await for top - tier ramification and foliage , ‘ W. Stackman ’ ( aka Golden Shadows ) is stacked .
With a height and spread of 10 to 12 feet , ‘ W. Stackman ’ has leaves that issue in red come spring , and go on to flaunt a ignitor gullible to yellowed diversification at the margin .
The branch are starkly horizontal , so its layered form is quite stress .
Managing Pests and Disease
as luck would have it , this plant life is cervid - insubordinate . regrettably , that ’s where a pagoda dogwood ’s impedance pretty much ends . Here are a few pests and diseases that can do trouble .
Insects
Creepy - crawlies are annoying enough on their own , but when you also view their content for vectoring pathogens ? It ’s all the more reason to have whole pest control strategy in place .
After emerge from eggs set by their wasp - like clearwing moth parents , Synanthedon scitulalarvae are poise to strike .
And strike they do : the larvae start consuming the inner bark and cambium , which can go to previous leaf drop , kill individual branches , and decrease overall industrial plant vigor .
In sentence , the feeding hurt can kill young Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree .
Along with proper refinement from the get - go , be careful to obviate unnecessary combat injury to the tree , since eggs are often laid in wound opening night .
give permethrin in other May , with repetition applications every three week until fall , will help to manage these pests .
Is your tree too far gone to save ? Then removing and disposing of it is your only odd option .
foliage miner are the larval stage of a smorgasbord of sawflies , wasps , and beetles , have it away to be within and go through plant leafage as they mature .
As they feed , they leave behind milklike tunnel that can aggregate to form larger blotch , which reduces photosynthesisandaesthetics .
Any infested plant leaves should be removed ASAP . Since leaf mineworker can overrun nearby weeds as well , see and remove them will result your tree diagram less vulnerable .
Nearby trap crops such ascolumbinecan aid entice foliage mineworker away from your pagoda dogwood .
Diglyphus isaeais a wasp parasite of leaf miner that can be effectual in management when release early in the season .
Leaf Miner Parasite
They can be purchased in great numbersfrom Arbico Organics .
spray of spinosad on plant surface will effectively poison and kill any larva that give on them within a day or two .
Applying three to four atomizer , spread equally throughout the growing season , is a solid strategy .
Bonide Captain Jack ’s Deadbug Brew
Spinosad is available as a concentrate or in quick - to - spray bottlesfrom Arbico Organics .
check more about how to grapple leaf miners in our guide .
These lowly , round - embodied pestssuck the phloem from infested plant tissue , which can lead to chlorosis , decreased vigor , and an unsightly appearance .
to boot , they release honeydew in their wake , which can conduct to the development ofblack sooty mold .
Branches with expectant infestations can be removed . lineal applications of insecticidal soap or horticultural petroleum are also effective for control .
Find more hint on key and combating dogwood pest here .
Disease
Many diseases can be forbid with sanitary gardening practices . Sterilizing your tools , using clean soils and pathogen - free plant – every good wont helps .
get byDisculadestructiva , this fungal disease also goes by the name discula anthracnose . If this disease is new to you , just know that the species name is quite on point .
Initial symptom attest as low , tan leaf spot , which often get into larger splotch with over-embellished to brown margins as the disease progresses . Drooping and blighted leaves can also result .
The disease works its way up the stem turn , limb , and trunk , leaving cankers in its wake .
The girdling and expiry of infect tissues can result , and all of this can culminate in flora death over time .
Any cankered or dead branches should be prune , and nearby leaf junk should be rake up and toss away of .
gratefully , the branch habit of this industrial plant provide adequate airflow , so no extra pruning is required in that regard .
When sprayed with fungicides in early spring , new growth stand a greater probability of avoid transmission .
Remove and dispose of any infected trees that are beyond saving .
We delved more into the inside information of the disease here .
Typically occurring in wet summer conditions , fungous folio spots in pagoda dogwoods are primarily cause by species ofSeptoriaandCercospora cornicolafungi .
Both eccentric of pathogen cause small , irregularly - shape spots , which are bordered by leaf veins . Septoriaspots are dark-skinned brown , whileCercosporaspots are more of a tannish - chocolate-brown chromaticity .
Fungal foliage spot is n’t fatal , but it wo n’t leave a Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree look its good .
Raking up and cast aside of fallen leaves help to foreclose the overwintering and subsequent cattle farm of the fungi , while applications of antimycotic are typically needed to keep in line serious infection .
because of the fungusCryptodiaporthe corni , golden pestilence may infect pagoda dogwoods in a variety of precondition twelvemonth - orotund .
It ’s a disease that exclusively infects alternate leafed dogwood – an honor that I ’m sure the tree does n’t apprize .
There are a few unknowns about the disease . First , it ’s not quite clear exactly how the pathogen infects the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree , though entry via wounds and innate hatchway is the leading hypothesis .
to boot , the fungus can actually live within the plant without doing damage , so the precise reasons why the pathogen make water the switch from benign to malignant are still unclear .
septic barkturns a bright scandalmongering to tan color , while small raised orange bumps evolve on the bark ’s control surface .
Cankers first appear on the limb tips and get along downward as the infection spreads to larger stem and branches .
Infected branches may flush it to leaf out come spring , while canker sore - girdled branches can wilt and die .
The only known efficient way of managing gilded canker is to lop diseased branch .
Be sure to make your cuts within a centimeter above a goodly thickening that ’s at least two node below any infected barque .
To reduce the amount of spores grow within the canopy , the good metre to prune infect branches is during dormancy in subfreezing temperatures . Once you have your pruned - away branch , burn or swallow them .
Best Uses for Pagoda Dogwood Trees
When you take the beautiful tiered branching of a pagoda dogwood tree , it unquestionably qualifies for use as a specimen in your base landscape .
Additionally , you could place these trees in groupings or use them as a border along the edge of your property .
As an understory forest tree , the pagoda cornel looks gorgeous in woodland garden . Since it attracts a plethora of fauna , you ’ll sure enough further species diversity in the ecosystem !
Quick Reference Growing Guide
Alternate Leaves for an Alternate Look
If you ’re interested in “ branching out ” with layered branching , you should really give the pagoda dogwood a go .
It ’ll certainly cast the eye of onlookers , and who know ? It may become your newfangled go - to recommendation for kinsfolk look to supply some pizzazz to their landscape .
Now that you have the lowdown on the pagoda dogwood , go forward and develop ! Spread your wings and flee ! Other enthusiastic boost !
Trying tofill your landscape with more eye catch dogwood tree ? Ask , and you shall take in :
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Joe Butler
