Cornus Bailey Dogwood

13 years ago

I just found a "chunk" of something in the backyard of our new home - pic attached. It was half buried under some Junipers and has been cut way back. It currently stands about 2' tall.
It still had a tag on it that reads "Cornus Bailey Dogwood". I Googled it but am only finding shrubs with all red canes. As I hope you can see from the pic several of the canes here are brown. When I gave them a tug, a few pulled out quite easily as if they are dead, similarly to the old canes of my hydrangea. My questions are
1.) If I leave this alone, will it come back?
2.) If I dig it up and move it to a better spot will it come back?
3.) Does anyone have any idea about how tall/wide this will get so I can make sure I give it a good spot? (I found one site that indicated 8'tall and 10' wide but another indicated 3'tall...)

Any helps would be appreciated :)
Thanks!

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Comments (5)

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
13 years ago
It IS a redtwig dogwood shrub (Cornus sericea 'Baileyi) but like with all shrub dogwoods, color is only really intense on new growth. Older wood, espcially close to the base, will look a more typical greyish brown. The answer to both 1 & 2 is yes :-) These are tough plants, tolerant of both a range of light and soil conditions.

Baileyi is a more compact, less suckering form of shrub dogwood - 6-8' x 6-8'. And renewal pruning on a routine basis will keep it both small as well as with bright stem color.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
13 years ago
opk.. new home.. not yoru fault ...

let me be very clear ... and yell.. lol ..

THAT IS THE ABSOLUTE WORST WAY TO PRUNE A DOGWOOD OF THIS TYPE ...

google 'rejuvenation pruning of shrubs' .. when you want to do it right ... or come back and ask us..

also.. of the 1850 pots of plants i took when i moved 12 years ago.. i left this waste of space ... lol ..IMHO.. one of the most space eating useless plants in my old garden.. second only to its kin.. the yellow twig dogwood..

if this this fails to please you .. or is in the wrong spot [which i suspect from its prior butchering].. JUST GET RID OF IT ...

and for a nickle.. i will tell yo how i really feel about it .. lol

ken
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kday72
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks Gardengal48! I appreciate the quick response :)

Hi Ken! I was hoping you might catch this post and chime in ;) I was kinda hoping this was a keeper since everything else they left was either Juniperus ÃÂ pfitzeriana or some type of invasive (Rhamnus cathartica & Euonymus alata to name a few).

I'll probably let it go a year to see what it does and then decide whether it stays or goes. There are at least 2-3 more evergreens that I can just make out but need to "unbury" from their current location. I'll be posting again when I can get to them and take pics :)

Thanks!!!!
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
13 years ago
the question would be .. and i am asking others..

if you should go in there.. right now.. and take out every stub bigger/wider.. than say your index finger .... and simply rejuvenate it right now ...

i vote yes.. cut them all as close to the ground as you can ....

you cant kill it if you try ... so why not ...

ken

ps: wasnt that some beautiful typing in my first response.. lol ...
prairiegirlz5
13 years ago
I love red-twig dogwoods, esp. BECAUSE they are small-ish trees/large shrubs if you do cut down the brown twigs (but no more than half the shrub should be cut out at one time) and are so easy to grow. I combine them with viburnum opulus, clethra and itea so that I have a variety of fall colors and intersperse perennials for colorful summer blooms and fragrance.