Dogwood Shrub Trimming - Ask Extension
Hello!
Two years ago, I trimmed our dogwood shrub in late winter and had a great looking shrub.
This past late winter/early spring a few of the bran...
Knowledgebase
Dogwood Shrub Trimming #876616
Asked July 10, 2024, 9:24 AM EDT
Hello!
Two years ago, I trimmed our dogwood shrub in late winter and had a great looking shrub.
This past late winter/early spring a few of the branches looked dead and with the strange winter I did NOT do any trimming.
The shrub was slow to leaf out this spring and a few branches had buds and took a long time to actual leaf out. Overall the shrub is looking good now, but there are definitely some branches that are dead or will not be leafing as its now July. Is it safe to trim out these dead branches or do I need to wait until winter to trim out the dead (I don't plan on trimming any of the good stuff now, unless its safe to do so).
Hennepin County Minnesota
Expert Response
It's ok to remove dead portions of the shrub anytime.
Dogwood shrubs are subject to a number of diseases including Botryosphaeria canker which is consistent with some of the symptoms you mentioned. If you read the following publication and inspect the stems carefully, you may be able to determine whether this disease is present. If it is, follow the management steps mentioned in the publication. Canker may be present on stems that otherwise appear to be healthy, but the disease is progressive so all or portions of affected stems will die eventually.
https://ag.umass.edu/landscape/fact-sheets/botryosphaeria-canker
Dogwood shrubs are subject to a number of diseases including Botryosphaeria canker which is consistent with some of the symptoms you mentioned. If you read the following publication and inspect the stems carefully, you may be able to determine whether this disease is present. If it is, follow the management steps mentioned in the publication. Canker may be present on stems that otherwise appear to be healthy, but the disease is progressive so all or portions of affected stems will die eventually.
https://ag.umass.edu/landscape/fact-sheets/botryosphaeria-canker
