Dogwood

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Dogwood

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Treacodactyl
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Sun Dec 05, 04 1:46 pm Post subject: Dogwood

I have just been tidying our garden's pea and bean sticks up and it has reminded me how versatile common dogwoods (Cornus sanguinea ?) are.

They grow very well on poor chalky soil, I can get good pea sticks in one - two years from an established root and by thinning our hedges I can get a few long bean poles that are over 8 foot tall and thinner than a cane.

The flowers are not spectacular but attract many bees, the small black fruit stay on the trees until winter and are loved by birds, flocks of blue, long tailed and great tits love hopping around them. The small trees are very easy to grow (perhaps too easy) and fresh stems are quite colourful in winter. They spread via underground suckers and regrow from very hard pruning.

The sticks last a couple of years and any large bits make very good firewood.

They only question I have is that I virtually never see Dogwood mentioned as a good coppice tree or a good hedging tree. The decorative varieties are often sold, but there is not much mention of the wilds one.

Last edited by Treacodactyl on Sun Dec 05, 04 1:55 pm; edited 1 time in total

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45669
Location: Essex

Posted: Sun Dec 05, 04 1:51 pm Post subject:
There's a brief mention here: https://www.allotmentforestry.com/fact/growown3.htm

anneka

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 158

Posted: Sun Dec 05, 04 11:59 pm Post subject: Re: Dogwood

Treacodactyl wrote:

(Cornus sanguinea ?) that right, you get different var. though

Treacodactyl wrote:

They only question I have is that I virtually never see Dogwood mentioned as a good coppice tree or a good hedging tree. The decorative varieties are often sold, but there is not much mention of the wilds one.

That because it's a shrub not a tree - that's it though you make a good point about it's use.

Anneka

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Mon Dec 06, 04 7:06 am Post subject: Re: Dogwood

anneka wrote:

That because it's a shrub not a tree - that's it though you make a good point about it's use.
Anneka

I'm not sure the difference between a shrub and a tree. I've left a few dogwoods to grow in one place and their trunks are at least 6 inches across. Are hazels trees or shrubs as I would class them as the same sort of tree/shrub sized plant?

mrutty

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 1578

Posted: Mon Dec 06, 04 7:27 am Post subject:
I've always seen hazel classed as a bush.

anneka

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 158

Posted: Mon Dec 06, 04 9:19 am Post subject:
Its a tree though - you don't see it a lot but it can grow to a fair size tree. It just grows better as a hedge or coppice, so it's been used that way. Anneka

anneka

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 158

Posted: Mon Dec 06, 04 9:40 am Post subject:

Sorry I have just seen T's post above Marks, it's a fine line I guess but when it comes to classification the someone had to make a distinction some where.

"A woody perennial plant having a single elongate main stem generally with few or no branches on its lower part."

bit vauge though as that could make some conifers shrubs??

I will look further.

Anneka

EDIT - Hilliers list hazel as large shrubs or small trees and cornus as a range of creeping (?) shrubs to trees.

In forestry hazel is regarded as a tree, however that definition may be to do with the production of wood rather than the size of the plant/tree/shrub

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