sparse flowering

[gardenlover]

Hi, I'm new to the site - thanks for being there!

I've had a pink flowering dogwood for 4 or 5 years, about 6 or 7 feet tall. It seems to be healthy, but the flowers appear only on the very top branches. The lower ones seem to leaf out fine, but NO flowers. Can anyone tell me what might be the problem and how to remedy it? Many thanks.
Gardenlover

 

[Elmore]

It may be due to light or lack of sufficient amounts of light but it could be a host of other factors also. If these trees are under big trees or the available light is affected by other trees or shrubs, you might be able to judiciously prune the larger plants to increase the light to the dogwoods. Don't fertilize with a lot of nitrogen. That will favor vegetative growth over flowering. I have some other ideas but you probably don't want to cut on these trees. Here is some info on this subject : http://www.uvm.edu/~uvmext/publications/oh/oh40.htm

If they don't improve you can always replace them with Japanese Maples. They are overall a better and more beautiful tree and can provide color and interest longer than most Dogwoods. Just kidding, kinda, Dogwoods are great.

 

[gardenlover]

Elmore, thanks so much for your speedy reply. The dogwood in question gets sun a good part of the day. There are a few large maples around, but they don't cast their shade in that direction. I would say there's 4 or 5 hours of direct sun in the middle of the day before the house itself casts its shadow over it in late afternoon.

Perhaps the fertilizer IS the problem. Last year for the first time, I used the fertilizer spikes - I have no idea what the nitrogen content is. Maybe they were the wrong thing to use.

Any further thoughts?
Many thanks.
gardenlover

 

[Elmore]

fertilizer spikes

In general fertilizer spikes suck.

 

[gardenlover]

Thank you, Treeco & Elmore - Fortunately, fertilizer spikes are easily remedied; large maples are not. I would estimate the maples to be about 20 feet from the dogwood. Is dogwood particularly susceptible to root competition, more so than other ornamentals? If, in fact, that is the problem, is it kinder to just live with the less than optimal conditions, or to remove the dogwood and replace it with something else?

I am tickled pink to have found your site - thanks for being there for us.
gardenlover

 

[gardenlover]

Elmore, I almost forgot - thanks for the link to "Why Plants Fail to Bloom" - it was very helpful and informative.