Why Won't
My Dogwood
Trees Bloom.
Are They Sterile?
liear Plant Doctor: I am writing
to inquire about the flowering of
dogwood trees.
In the fall of 19X8, 1 planted ten
dogwood trees in the woods sur
rounding our home. There are pre
existing dogwood trees which
bloom each year. Unfortunately, the
trees planted six years ago have nev
er bloomed. During that time the
trees have grown, they display
healthy foliage, and are shaded
enough by the surrounding pine
trees that I have never noticed any
sunburn to the leaves.
My questions are, does the lack of
blooms indicate sterile trees? And if
this is not possible, do these trees re
quire a nutrient to stimulate bloom
(a nutrient which must not be re
quired by the pre-existing dogwoods
which never fail to bloom?)
I will be looking forward to your
reply. ?l>aurinburg
Answer: The Eastern Flowering
Dogwood (Cornus for ulu) may fail
to bloom for a multitude of reasons. I
am sure "sterile" dogwood trees oc
cur in nature, hut it is a dead-end
path and I expect it is extremely rare.
I doubt that you have planted 6 ster
ile dogwoods. I have no idea why
your dogwoods have not bloomed,
but a number of factors influence
dogwood bloom...maybe you will
recognize the cause of your problem
in the following information.
Transplanted seedling dogwoods
normally flower 2 to 5 years after
planting. However many cultural
practices, environmental conditions,
and other factors can influence the
normal flowering of dogwood.
Dogwoods set bloom in August
and September in eastern North
Carolina in response to shorter day
length. During this time plants are
especially sensitive to environmen
tal disturbances. I suspect excessive
fertilizer, drought, insect infestation,
disease or even exposure to night
lighting can adversely affect the
bloom during this time. Excessively
cold winter temperatures routinely
freeze dogwood buds in the midwest
but I doubt that impacts you in
l^aurinburg.
I suspect your trees will eventual
ly bloom. You may want to take a
soil test around the root zone of your
trees to check for the nutrient status
of the existing soil. Phosphorus (eg.
bonemeal or 0-20-0) will often stim
ulate flowering in plants having a
difficult time with their floral dis
play. I am sending you an excellent
Southern Forest Scrvicc pamphlet ti
lled "Growing and Maintaining
Healthy Dogwoods-FR 14" to help
solve your blooming problem.
10 Steps To Maintaining
Healthy Dogwoods
1. Select healthy trees to plant.
2. Purchase trees from a reputable
nursery?do not transplant trees
from the wild.
3. Select good planting sites to
promote rapid foliage drying.
4. Use proper planting technique.
5. Prune and destroy dead wood
and leaves yearly; prune trunk
sprouts in the fall.
6. Water weekly in the morning
during drought, but do not wet fo
liage.
7. Maintain a 4- to 6-inch-deep
mulch around trees; do not use dog
wood chips for mulch.
8. Fertilize according to N.C. De
partment of Agriculture soil analy
sis.
9. Use appropriate pesticides
when appropriate. (Check with your
N.C. Cooperative Extension Service
for specific recommendations!)
10. Avoid mechanical and chemi
cal injury to trees.
Dear Plant Doctor: It certainly
would be nice to have you for a
neighbor where 1 could just stick my
head over the fence and ask you all
these questions.
The question 1 have today is
whether you have heard about
"Spray-n-Grow" (see enclosed ad
vertisement). This supposedly a bio
catalyst and not a fertilizer. Does it
work or will I be wasting my mon
ey?
Hoping to hear from you with
usual informative and quick answer.
?Fayetteville
|M Corners
Corners Market
ot the coiners of Rt. 904 (Seaside Or.)
and Rt. 179 (Sunset Blvd. N.) in Seaside
ICE CREAM &
YOGURT
BANANA SPLITS. SUNDAES.
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SmurinxlU
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CRAFTS & NOVELTIES & KITES
VEGETABLES. FRUITS &
FISH IN SEASON
THE
PLANT
DOCTOR
C. BRUCE
WILLIAMS
Extension Area
TwfSpecialist
Answer: I read the material you
sent me about "Spray-N-Grow." I
could not find any specific scientific
information iboul this product.
However, I did call Dr. Art Nightin
gale (Professor Emeritus, Horticul
ture Department, Texas A&M) and
discussed at length his results with
Spray-N-Grow. Dr. Nightingale told
me the product has indeed produced
amazing results in his replicated
field trials but he did not know why.
Evidently this product contains
trace elements and enzymes (?) that
increase fruit size and fruit set.
Reportedly, research is currently be
ing conducted at Cornell University
and several other colleges to con
firm the beneficial effects of this
product. For additional information
about the product, contact Bill Mus
kopf, P.O. Box 2137, Rockport,
Texas 78382, (512)790-91)33.
Try Spray-N-Grow at your own
risk and let me know what you
Spray-N-Grow may be an excel
lent product; time will tell. How
ever, as a scientist and professional
skeptic, I am extremely leery of any
product that docs not include a de
tailed list of contents.
Prolific use of home gardener tes
timonials (without any accompany
ing scientific references or universi
ty evaluations) is another warning
flag for some unscrupulous prod
ucts. These products seem to work
best when soil fertility, cultural prac
tices and pest control are optimum.
Sound familiar?
Products offered to gardeners often
do not have the same quality guaran
tees as many other consumer goods.
Nearly any unethical entrepreneur
can bottle pond water, add some trace
elements and claim miraculous gar
dening successes. Multiple site-repli
cated scientific Held evaluations are
required of legitimate agricultural
fertilizer amendments, equipment
and pesticides.
The greatest gardening successes I
routinely witness is when gardeners
conduct annual soil tests, follow N.C.
State-recommended cultural prac
tices, and follow recommended inte
grated pest management strategies.
Send your questions and com
ments to the Plant Doctor, P.O. Box
109, Bolivia NC 2H422.
SHELTON
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