How to properly grow dogwood from a seed. Dogwood - planting and care. Growing and propagating dogwood. Useful properties of dogwood. When should you plant dogwood?

There are several ways to propagate dogwood: by seeds, layering, dividing the bush, root suckers, and grafting. Subject to all the rules and a clear sequence of actions, any method will bring excellent result. First, you should study the details of each method and choose a more acceptable option for yourself.

How to propagate dogwood by cuttings

This method involves propagating dogwood using green cuttings. It is produced in the summer after the growth of annual shoots has stopped. You should choose a healthy adult shrub that is at least five years old for cuttings.

The shoot is separated in the morning. Cut from a branch you like top part shoots 10-15 cm long. Using a sharp knife, make an oblique cut 1 cm below the last bud. Then, using pruning shears, you will need to remove all the leaves except the top 2-3.

The finished cutting should be placed for several hours in a pre-prepared solution, which is a growth stimulator. After the time has passed, rinse the workpiece cold water and plant it in a greenhouse.

If a lot of cuttings are planted, then arrange them densely. Approximately every 3-4 cm. It is necessary to water the soil well. After planting, sprinkle the soil with pre-washed coarse sand. Its layer should be about 10 cm.

At the end of the work, you need to cover everything with film. A distance of approximately 20 cm should be left from the tops of the cuttings to the ceiling of the greenhouse. Greenhouse conditions require maintaining a humid climate with a temperature of about 25°C. In the future, do not forget about mandatory ventilation and periodic watering.

The root will form in two months. It is possible to reduce the rooting period when using certain types of stimulants.

The formed root system signals the arrival of the time for hardening of seedlings. You should start by briefly removing the film on the greenhouse, gradually increasing the time every day. It is necessary to calculate the period so that on the tenth, perhaps twelfth day, the mini-greenhouse is completely removed.

Later, you can plant young dogwood seedlings. When adaptation to a new place takes place, it is advisable to feed it with organic and. After a year, they are transplanted to a permanent place where the shrub grows. For such works will do both spring and autumn.

This method is characterized by a low growth rate of seedlings. But it is quite suitable if it suits the gardener or there is no need for a large production volume of cultivation.

Reproduction of dogwood by seeds

This method is no less time-consuming, labor-intensive and painstaking. To propagate dogwood from seeds, the fruits are harvested in the fall, after removing the pulp from the grain. Next, for a whole year, the seeds are placed in humid environment with moss or sawdust. Of course, you need to regularly water the substrate to prevent it from drying out. This is how stratification occurs, which is necessary for the speedy growth and hardening of seeds.

Another way of this growing method involves planting freshly harvested seeds in the fall directly into open ground. Chrysanthemums are propagated by seeds using the same principle. Germination of dogwood will also occur in a year. But in this case, germination may be significantly worse due to the unpredictability of natural conditions.

Seeds collected from unripe fruits have better germination.

Dogwood seeds go 3-5 cm deep into the soil. When the first shoots appear, they should be fed and watered as necessary. It is also necessary to protect the sprouts from exposure to direct sun rays to avoid burns of foliage and rapid drying out of the soil.

In the fall, in a year, the seedlings will be up to 15 cm high. They can already be transplanted to a new place of growth.

The first fruits will appear only after 7-10 years.

Grafting dogwood with cuttings

This method is called budding. It is most preferred among gardeners in the propagation of dogwood and other species of trees. The big advantage of grafting is that it can be done both in the spring, during the period of sap movement, and in mid-summer, when the bark is well peeled.

Grafting of dogwood by cuttings is carried out mainly on its wild species due to their greater adaptation to various natural factors and survival in natural environment.

The suitable height for grafting on wild dogwood is 10-15 cm. If standard forms are used, it is 75-80 cm.

The rootstock, that is, the place where the graft will be inserted, is cut evenly. A recess is formed in the middle part. The scion is the top cutting. It should have a total length of about 15 cm.

Prepared like this:

The future upper part is cut off above the bud with an oblique cut. It must be treated with garden varnish.
The lower part should have a wedge-shaped cut 4 cm long. This is done using two oblique sections with a sharp, disinfected object.

For dogwood grafting, two-year-old seedlings are used.

During the grafting process, the scion wedge is carefully inserted into the recess so that part of the cut remains outside. The junction is wrapped transparent material to maintain the structure. The bush itself is sprinkled with the mixture and sand to the grafting site.

After this procedure, you should place the dogwood in greenhouse conditions, where the fusion of two parts will occur faster. This requires elevated temperature. Successful fusion can be determined by the appearance of new fabric– callus. This means that it is time to transplant the dogwood into open ground and remove the winding.

Reproduction by layering

The easiest way to obtain a new plant is vegetative propagation. This method involves sprinkling soil on individual branches from the selected bush. After this procedure, the shoots take root and new dogwood seedlings will emerge from them.

Should be in the fall or in early spring select annual shoots or branches that are two years old on the bush. Having tilted and slightly pressed them to the previously dug up soil, secure them with pins near the surface of the soil. The entire part of the shoot, except the top, should be sprinkled with soil. It must be pinned and, slightly lifted, secured to a vertical support. Regular watering is required.

Preliminary fertilizing of the soil will ensure the speedy appearance of buds and new shoots. Already in the spring of the next year, young dogwood seedlings are separated from the old bush and transplanted to a new place.

Dividing the bush

This quick way propagation is used when it is necessary to transplant a large mature plant to another location. One bush is divided into many new seedlings.

Reproduction by division can be carried out twice a year:

before the buds ripen in early spring;
late autumn.

Having taken the plant out of the ground, it is cleared of dry branches. The soil is carefully removed from the rhizome and the bush is divided into several parts. Each new specimen ready for planting must have a stem and root. Having trimmed the rhizome, each part of the dogwood bush is transplanted to its own separate, specially prepared place.

Any of the described methods is accessible and not difficult to perform. The main thing is to follow the rules when observing temperature conditions, watering and choosing the right place to plant a new bush. Then, after a certain time, you can get an excellent harvest of very healthy dogwood berries.

Interesting information about dogwood and its cultivation - video

People often ask, is it difficult to grow dogwood? Planting and care is not the most difficult thing. The main difficulty is to plant seedlings so that they take root. And then the dogwood grows as if on its own. Dogwood – delicious berry, which many associate with the south, holidays in Crimea or on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus. Yes, indeed, wild dogwood grows in the southern regions of our country. But today it is grown by gardeners not only in the south, but also in regions located much further to the north. Cultivated varieties are grown in household plots, the berries of which are much larger than wild ones. They are brighter in color and tastier. Of course, the taste also depends on the variety and the ripening period.

Features of dogwood

Dogwood is a frost-resistant plant, it can easily tolerate temperatures down to minus 32-35 degrees, therefore it is suitable for growing in middle lane Russia. Heavy fogs and prolonged rains, which inhibit the action of insects, have an unfavorable effect on its fruiting. But the dogwood, by the will of God, blooms for a whole month, so it develops normally. Fruits every year.

The yield of one plant depends on age: it ranges from 8 to 250 kg. The fruits are red, black, orange, yellow, purple, in shape - cylindrical, elliptical, pear-shaped, round, fruit weight - 2-6 g (pear-shaped up to 12 g).

Dogwood is a cross-pollinating plant. Some consider it to be self-pollinating but produce reduced yields. But self-pollination is considered a reserve act, an adaptation of dogwood to unfavorable environmental conditions.

When planting varietal dogwood, ensure that there is either a wild plant or another variety nearby. That is, to grow and have good yields, you need to have at least two or three plants on your site or at a neighbor’s nearby. It is very important! Dogwood, if it is comfortable, has as many flowers as it has fruits.

Many gardeners make a big mistake when planting one plant. You can wait many years, provide the dogwood with proper care, but still not expect a good harvest. There will be fruits, of course, but they will be single fruits, there will be few of them. This is unlikely to suit you.

This is a shade-tolerant and light-loving breed at the same time. It should be taken into account that in illuminated areas the dogwood blooms earlier. Although he stoically endures shade. The best option- when the dogwood is slightly shaded, since in open areas it feels oppressed by the intense summer heat.

We must manage to collect the dogwood on time. Ripe berries will fall to the ground and then harvesting will become more difficult.

Dogwood propagation

Dogwood is propagated by seeds and vegetatively. The seed method does not ensure the consolidation of all valuable characteristics of the variety in the offspring. Moreover, with this method, plants begin to bear fruit in the fifth or sixth year, and vegetatively propagated ones - in the second or third year.

Used for breeding purposes seed propagation(the best forms for selecting the most interesting according to certain specified characteristics). But for seed germination, long stratification is required - 20-28 months.

Eat Interesting Facts: If the seeds of ripe fruits germinate in 1.5-2 years, then unripe ones - in 6-7 months. Freshly harvested fruits (without drying out seeds), immediately sown, had a germination rate of up to 47% in April of the following year.

Agronomist Svetlana Nikolaevna Litvinenko proposed an accessible, accelerated method for growing dogwood seedlings from seeds. Collected seeds They were treated with a 2% solution of sulfuric acid for three days, then they were placed in a box with wet sand and placed in a greenhouse. The sand in the boxes was kept moist. After three months, the seeds began to hatch, and in the spring (after 5-6 months) they achieved germination of up to 78%.

Vegetative methods of dogwood propagation: layering, grafting (budding), cuttings. All these growing methods are very effective. But vaccinations are very difficult to take root.

Propagation by green cuttings is carried out in June, when young shoots stop growing. For better rooting of cuttings, all conditions for green cuttings are necessary. This is the use of growth stimulants, regulation of temperature, lighting, and humidity.

A very affordable, simple method of propagation is budding in July-early August or grafting with cuttings in March. Dogwood from seeds - one- to two-year-old seedlings - is used as rootstock material. Many experts consider budding to be the only reliable method of reproduction. The survival rate of the eyes is up to 70%. By the end of the growing season, the occulants reach 80 cm. The reliability of survival rate when propagated by grafting is very low - no more than 10-20%.

In the first year, oculants form 3-5 lateral shoots. By autumn they are planted in a permanent place, and in the second or third year the dogwood begins to bear fruit - instead of 6-8 years when propagated by seeds.

If you know that varietal dogwood seedlings do not survive in your area, then you need to sow seeds from varietal dogwood - you will get a semi-cultivated plant that is more adapted to your climatic conditions. By sowing a few seeds, you will get plants with different properties- some will have larger berries, while others will have smaller ones; the taste, color, and shape of the berries may also differ. Even the timing of fruiting may be different. As a result great job, keep the plant that will satisfy you best. And this will be a dogwood of your own selection (at an amateur level), which has super resistance, super productivity for your climate zone. You can even propagate your own variety.

Planting dogwood

Dogwood grows on any soil, but prefers limed soil with sufficient manganese content (42 mg/kg of soil). Although it is a drought-resistant plant, it still prefers moderately moist soils. With prolonged drought, leaves begin to curl, flower buds may not form, and the length of growth shoots decreases.

Dogwood seedlings do not need to be planted in full sun. It grows well in partial shade from other, taller plants. This is a very good feature of it.

Planting holes for dogwood are made with a diameter of 80 cm and a depth of 60-80 cm. When planted in a permanent place, seedlings are formed with a stem height of 30-50 cm, with five to seven skeletal branches. Typically, branches are not pruned. Only remove shoots below the planned height of the trunk. The crown must be thinned out.

Planting depth of dogwood seedling: root collar When planting, it should be at soil level. If you bury the seedling when planting, then over time there will be a lot of growth around the trunk. And if the root collar is above the soil level, then the seedling will take root very poorly and will take a long time.

Two seedlings of different varieties wrap around a metal post

Seedlings of different varieties are planted at a distance of at least 3-4 meters from each other. But if you don't have much space garden plot, you can do it like this. Seedlings of 2-3 years old of different varieties are planted in one planting hole. Immediately intertwine (braid) the trunks of both around each other and over the years you will get one plant with flowers that can pollinate each other. That is, visually it will be one plant. Its trunk will look like a tight spiral.

A variation of this type of planting two seedlings in one planting hole would be to wrap the trunks not around themselves, but around a post (preferably metal), which is placed between the seedlings. The column remains there forever.

Dogwood can be shaped as a tree or as a bush. Everything will depend on you - how you form the plant. If you do not remove the lower shoots, then over time the bush will grow. If you trim excess branches from the trunk during the first 3-4 years, a tree will form.

Dogwood is a long-liver. He can give wonderful harvest in a hundred years! So, if you plant a dogwood on your plot, it will delight more than one generation with its tasty, beautiful, healthy fruits.

Many interesting cultivated large-fruited varieties of dogwood have appeared, of which the most interesting for gardeners are Pear-shaped, Kapelka, Urozhainy, Seyanets Evgenii, Number two, Pervenets and others.

Dogwood is not often found in our area. But since this plant has unsurpassed beneficial properties, it is worth thinking about starting to grow it in your summer cottage.

Planting a dogwood and subsequently caring for it is not a complicated procedure at all, which even a novice gardener can do. This shrub is unpretentious, and at the same time has tasty berries.

Timing of dogwood ripening in the Moscow region, Krasnodar region and Ukraine

Dogwood prefers the warm climate of the Caucasus and Transcaucasia, where it grows in mountain forests, on sunny edges, as well as in thickets of other shrubs. In addition, it grows in Ukraine, Crimea, Middle and Southern Europe, as well as in Western Asia. In Russia, dogwood is successfully cultivated in various areas - Moscow region, Krasnodar region and other regions.

The flowering of the common dogwood begins in March and ends in April. The fruits ripen closer to mid-autumn, depending on the region of growth. When the fruits are ripe, they begin to fall from the bush. The ripeness of dogwood fruits can also be determined by taste. The harvest is harvested every year in September, and the roots are harvested at the end of November..

Freshly picked dogwood berries

For long-term storage of berries at home, they are picked as they begin to ripen. The fruits are placed in small baskets where they ripen, and then stored at a temperature of 0 – +2 C.

Pleasant, Dogwood fruits, sweet and sour in taste with a specific aroma, are often consumed fresh, and experienced housewives are rushing to buy dogwood to prepare delicious preserves, jellies, jams, juices, compotes, marmalades, or simply sprinkle the fruits with sugar and store. Berries can also be preserved by freezing.

In their raw form, dogwood berries are stored in refrigeration chamber(in a plastic bag with holes) no more than 12 days.

Reproduction of dogwood by seeds at home

Dogwood can be propagated using seeds, i.e. germinate it. To do this, take ripe berries, free the pit from the pulp and place them in boxes with damp sawdust or moss for one year, regularly maintaining a humid environment. This method is used to stratify the seeds before planting them. The seed of this plant is not divided into cotyledons. In this regard, it should be placed in the ground no deeper than 3 cm. Unstratified seeds germinate only after 2 years, and not all of them. Germinated seeds germinate in the year they are sown.

Sprouted dogwood seed

Caring for the seeds is simple: watering, fertilizing, and shading from hot sunlight at the beginning of growth. During the first year, seedlings grow up to 3-4 cm, by the end of the second - up to 10-15 cm. Dogwood berries grown from seeds are harvested 7-10 years after sowing.

Dogwood, like all fruit plants, retains its varietal properties when vegetative propagation. Dogwood can be propagated by grafting, green cuttings and replantings. Most effective method - reproduction by budding, the survival rate of the eyes is 92-97%

When to plant dogwood in different regions of Russia?

The best period for planting shrubs in open ground in the southern regions is autumn. The time for planting dogwood is not difficult to determine - as soon as the poplar leaves begin to fall. It is recommended to plant this plant in the fall, since when planting in spring you have to plant it in a fairly short time: between the time the soil warms up and the period when the buds of the bush begin to bloom.

In the autumn, dogwoods are planted no later than mid-October, 2-3 weeks before the onset of frost.. Well-watered and hilled shrubs manage to take root, tolerate winter well and begin to grow rapidly in early spring.

Advantages and disadvantages of autumn planting

Autumn planting has a number of advantages:

Planted in autumn time dogwood seedlings have time to heal damaged roots over the winter and grow new suction roots by spring. Thereby young plant is able to withstand without complications early spring droughts and hot winds characteristic of the southern regions.
It is much more profitable to purchase dogwood in the fall. Gardeners and nurseries sell freshly dug planting materials, resulting in a huge selection of products at affordable prices.
Autumn planting is a bit of a hassle. It is enough to do only one watering, and nature will do the rest of the work on its own. Rainy weather in autumn provides the dogwood with the necessary state of humidity and comfort.
Another important advantage is time saving. Autumn planting of dogwood seedlings frees a large number of time and energy for other work, which becomes quite plentiful with the onset of spring.

The soil for growing ready-made dogwood seedlings should be prepared in the summer

Autumn planting also has certain disadvantages.:

Severe frosts can destroy fragile plants. In winter there are strong winds, snowfalls and other weather adversities that can break young trees and shrubs.
Rodents pose a danger to shrubs, feeding on seedlings in late autumn and winter.

Sometimes freshly picked dogwood berries with pericarp are planted in August. Germination in this case is 70-80% after 1.5 years from the date of sowing.

Important rules when planting dogwood

During planting, certain rules must be followed:

It is advisable to plant dogwood in a shaded place., between the trees. In this way, you can save garden space and solve the problem of using low-light areas on the site.
When choosing a site the location of groundwater should be taken into account, since the dogwood root system branches at a level of 1 m from the ground surface.
For good yield It is recommended to plant several different varieties of plants I, because they bloom at the same time.
When planting shrubs humus, manure, mineral fertilizers . All you need is land and water.

Below is detailed description the process of planting dogwood in a garden plot.

How to prepare a seedling?

When purchasing seed, you should focus on the root: the more powerful it is, the faster the plant will develop. You should be wary of weak, weathered, thin roots with obvious signs of pain. You need to purchase powerful seedlings with 2-3 root branches at least 30 cm in length. The bark on the trunk should be intact and the branches undamaged.

To fully verify the viability of the plant you like, you need to lightly cut the bark. If the cut is green- it means the choice is correct, if brown– you will have to continue searching for a suitable dogwood.

Before planting dogwood seedlings, they should be placed in water for several days.

The rhizome of the seedling should be well moistened. In case of long-term transportation, it is wrapped in damp material and placed in plastic bag. If the roots have dried out during transportation, they should be placed in water for several days before planting.. If after purchasing it is not possible to immediately plant the seedling, it is buried at an angle in a shaded place. Here it is important that the soil covers all the roots, as well as half of the seed. A abundantly watered plant in this form can be stored for a month.

Choosing a place for planting in a garden plot or cottage

What place in the country is most suitable for growing dogwood? Any site is suitable for the unpretentious dogwood. To reap good harvests, the soil must be saturated with fertilizers, drained, moist and alkaline..

To check the acidity of the soil, drop 2 drops of table vinegar onto a handful of soil. In an alkaline environment, small bubbles appear, indicating the required amount of lime.

Dogwood does not take root on marshy soils. In addition, clayey areas and poorly lit areas should be avoided. Partial shade is ideal for the first 5 years of growing this shrub.. Then the dogwood can be transplanted to a sufficiently lit area of the garden. To save space, it is recommended to plant shrubs between old trees, which will protect it with their shade. root system from drying out. Dogwood gets along with every fruit plant, with the exception of walnut.

Description of the process of planting seedlings on open ground in autumn

Rules for planting dogwood

To properly plant dogwood, you must follow these steps::

Before planting, the plant should be carefully inspected again and trim broken branches and damaged roots. Then treat all the roots well with pre-prepared clay mash. At autumn planting You need to carefully remove the foliage from the dogwood.
The hole for the seedling should easily accommodate the rhizome. Will do pit 30 – 50 cm deep.
Having dug a hole, into it drive in a stake, to which you will then need to tie the plant.
Approximately 15 cm of pebbles are placed at the bottom of the hole or expanded clay. If the soil is poor, one third of the drainage is covered with leaf soil.
Dogwood prefers potassium-rich soil. You can enrich it with lime, mixed with the substrate in a ratio of 150 g per 1 mg.
When placing a seedling in a hole, its roots should be carefully straightened, and the root collar is under 2 - 3 cm of soil.
When filling the hole, you need to make sure that no voids appear around the roots. To avoid this the planted material should be trampled down and watered well b.
A shrub is a must mulch about 10 - 15 cm. This procedure is necessary to ensure that the superficial roots do not dry out. For this you can use pine needles, sawdust, straw or hay.
7 days after landing the bud near the dogwood should be compacted and watered again.

Shrub care is an important point for getting a good harvest.

Dogwood doesn't need special care. The main thing is to water it constantly for one year from the time of planting. Watering is carried out 2 times during the week. To prevent water from spreading over the area, it is worth making a furrow around the seedling.

In the first growing season, you need to monitor the condition of the leaves. If they begin to dry out and curl, this indicates that the plant does not have enough moisture. Also During the first 3 years, gardeners need to monitor the cleanliness of the soil near the dogwood. Weeds growing at a distance of 1 m from the plant should be disposed of.

To ensure improved air exchange of the layer in which the plant's roots are located, it is necessary to periodically loosen the soil to a depth of about 10 cm. To make this process more convenient, loosen the soil the next day after watering.

For high yields, the shrub is fertilized several times throughout the year. It is believed that during the growing season, dogwood needs nitrogen-phosphorus supplements, and in the autumn - potassium.

Some gardeners add humus and compost alternately, or every year at the beginning of the summer period they add water to the plants. chicken droppings in a ratio of 10:1. Others make fertilizers from 0.03 kg of ammonium nitrate and one bucket of humus. At the end of August, 0.5 liters of wood ash are poured under an adult plant. And at the end of the harvest, it is advisable to add 0.1 kg of superphosphates. However, lime is recognized as the most important fertilizer. Thanks to it, potassium is present in the soil, which affects the future number of fruits.

When caring for dogwood important has regular tillage. It is carried out annually at least 6-7 times, regardless of the age and fruitfulness of the bush. Processing begins in the spring and ends in the fall, after all the fruits have been collected. The final stage of loosening the soil around the plant is mulching it.

How to transplant an ordinary dogwood?

If there is a need to transplant a plant from one area to another, the propagation method is used by dividing the bush.

For one year, this method can be used in early spring or late autumn. The plant is removed from the soil and freed from old branches. The root is cleared of soil, and the bush is cut into several parts. The roots are trimmed, old shoots are removed. After which the individual parts are planted in the prepared holes.

The common dogwood is long-lived. It can produce excellent harvests for 100 years. Therefore, if you plant a dogwood, it will delight you with its delicious and healthy berries more than one generation.

Often in garden plots you can see a plant with bright red berries. It's called dogwood. This shrub loves light, but also grows well in partial shade, is not afraid of drought, and it is also winter- and frost-resistant, tolerates frosts down to -40 degrees. The plant can be grown on any soil. But it is best to give preference to light soils with a large amount nutrients and with good drainage. Dogwood grows as a subshrub that can be pruned and trimmed. Its height varies from two to five meters.

The flowering period of this plant begins earlier than others. fruit trees and semi-shrubs. It starts in March and lasts until mid-April if the daily air temperature is between 5–10 degrees. The average flowering time is 14 days.

The flowers of the plant are bright yellow. They are pollinated by bees and wind. To get a regular harvest, it is recommended to plant several plants at once. The first harvest can be harvested in late summer–early autumn. The shape of the fruit depends on the plant variety. The color of the fruits is red, yellow or pink.

The plant’s powerful branched rhizomes lie to a depth of 1 m from the ground surface. The main roots are located at a depth of half a meter.

Where to plant dogwood?

Usually this shrub is planted according to perimeter of the site. Any area is suitable for growing dogwood.

Recommendation: to get a good harvest, it is recommended to grow the plant on open area. Lightweight, neutral, moist, drained soil, which is rich in calcium and has low acidity, is considered more suitable.

Growing dogwood is not particularly difficult. It can grow in partial shade and sun. An area with a slight slope is also suitable for it. The plant is suitable for growing on slopes that are oriented to the north and northeast.

When is it necessary to plant dogwood?

The most suitable period for planting plants is spring and summer. With the onset of autumn, the subshrub can be planted 14–21 days before autumn frosts.

How to choose the right seed?

You don't know which dogwood seedlings to buy? Then you need to familiarize yourself with the following recommendations. When buying seedlings, you need to pay attention to the condition they are in. rhizomes:

they must be without signs of disease;
preference should be given to seedlings that have two or three main root branches, the minimum length of which is 25–30 cm;
rhizomes must be moist and not weathered;
the bark should not be wrinkled, and the branches should be intact and strong.

If the purchase of seedlings occurs in the fall, it is recommended to carefully remove the foliage on the branches. In doing so, care must be taken not to damage ovary.

Recommendations: to prevent the roots from drying out during transportation, you need to wrap them damp cloth and place in a plastic bag. If the roots of the seedlings are very dry, then they must be immersed in liquid for a maximum of two to three days.

It happens that a purchased seedling cannot be planted immediately. In this case, it is recommended to bury it in the shade. To do this you need to do the following:

Dig a shallow, slightly elongated groove. At the same time, it should be tilted to the south.
The seed must be placed in the hole at an angle.
The plant is covered with substrate so that all the roots and half of the seedling are covered.
After this, the bush must be watered abundantly. So you can store the seed for one month.

Preparation of planting material is as follows:

it is necessary to remove all broken, unhealthy, dry rhizomes and branches;
To prevent the roots of the plant from drying out, it is recommended to coat them in a clay mixture before planting.

Planting dogwood

Plants that are one to two years old are suitable for replanting. Dogwood is planted in holes, the dimensions of which should be such that the rhizomes can be evenly located in it. A more suitable size is considered to be a hole whose depth is 30–50 cm. The width in diameter should be at least 40 cm.

The plant does not tolerate stagnation of water, so it is necessary to place it at the bottom of the hole. drainage layer 10–15 cm thick. Pebbles, gravel or expanded clay can be used as drainage.

humus - 1 bucket;
superphosphate – 0.2 kg;
ammonium nitrate – 0.05 kg;
wood ash – 0.250 kg.

All ingredients must be mixed with a regular earthen substrate. After this, the hole is filled one third with the resulting mixture. Next you need to lay ordinary land up to half the volume of the hole and pour out a bucket of water. When it is absorbed, you can begin to place the seedling. The seed must be placed in the middle of the hole so that the root collar is deepened by two to three centimeters. After this, you need to carefully straighten the roots. It is important that no voids appear. When the seedling is correctly positioned, it is necessary to fill the hole with ordinary earthen substrate. Next, you should trample the soil a little. After this, water again and mulch land. Organic matter can be used for these purposes. The mulch is poured five to ten centimeters thick.

Dogwood care

Proper care of the plant consists of timely application of fertilizers, pruning and regular soil cultivation.

With the onset of spring, be sure to loosen priming. Then they do this five more times throughout the summer and once after harvest. After this they produce mulching soil with organic matter.

Watering can be done using the following methods:

pour water into the recesses;
into the holes located around the seedling.

An average of two to three buckets of water should be poured under one bush. When watering, it is necessary to take into account the age of the plant, soil and degree of moisture.

Dogwood feeding

For bountiful harvest And good growth it is necessary to apply fertilizers every year. The following mixture can be used as fertilizer:

ammonium nitrate – 0.03 kg;
humus or compost - one bucket.

Recommendations: every year at the beginning of summer it is necessary to pour 10 liters of fertilizer from water and fresh mullein in a ratio of 1:5 under each adult plant. Instead, you can use bird droppings diluted with water in a ratio of 1:10. Adding Agrolife to the top layer of soil is also suitable as a fertilizer.

Also, every year at the end of summer you can pour 0.5 liters under each plant. wood ash. After harvesting, it is recommended to apply 0.1 kg of superphosphate fertilizers.

FAQ

You can often hear questions: “How to grow dogwood?” Our gardener gives answers to this and other questions.

Illona writes to us the following: “Good afternoon. I need advice. I can't figure out how to grow dogwood. I have two dogwood bushes growing. Moreover, they have been growing next to each other for several years. On personal plot I also have an apiary. But the most interesting thing is that the ovary does not linger on my plants. Once, however, there was only one berry left at the very bottom. But it was also stolen either by insects or pets. Soon the bushes will bloom again. I'm thinking of wrapping them in agro-fabric. Maybe in this way I will be able to create a microclimate that will help preserve the ovary. Do you think this will help or not?

Answer: “For a plant to be pollinated, several conditions must be met: the presence of bees, wind, sunny weather and a pollinating tree. I believe that in your case you need to do the following:

Plant another dogwood of a different variety.
To attract more insects, it is recommended to spray the plant with a weak honey solution during the flowering period.
It is best to wrap the tree with agrofibre overnight. And then, this must be done if night frosts are predicted during the flowering period. Such wrapping will not help for pollination.

It is important to remember the following:

the plant bears fruit only for 7–8 years;
dogwood does not bear fruit in clay soil.”

Julia asks: “Tell me, please. About three years ago I planted two dogwood bushes. They started without problems, but for some reason they grow very slowly and do not bloom. What should I do?".

Answer: “Pay attention to the soil. The plant will not grow in clay or full shade. It needs to be replanted. In general, I want to say that in the first years these subshrubs do not grow quickly. Most likely it is too early for your plants to bloom. Very often, dogwood begins to bloom after seven to eight years, if the plant is not an early variety.”

Igor asks: “I recently bought a dogwood seedling. The seller told me that I still need to buy a sexton. Explain to me what this is? Is it really necessary? After all, it costs the same as the seedling itself.”

Answer: “Usually these plants are planted in pairs. Of course, self-pollinating species have now been bred. But I often hear from people that these varieties do not always bloom. I would still recommend that you buy a second tree. With its help, pollination is guaranteed. The second plant can easily be a sexton.”

The benefits of dogwood berries

One berry contains many substances necessary for health: fructose, glucose, organic acids, nitrogenous and coloring substances, essential oil, vitamins C and P and phytancides.

The harvest from this subshrub can be consumed when:

gout;
anemia;
hemorrhoids;
dysentery;
typhus;
gastrointestinal diseases;
joint diseases;
skin ailments.

They also have the following effects on the human body:

choleretic;
diuretic;
antiscorbutic;
bactericidal;
antipyretic;
anti-inflammatory.

Berries contain pectin, which helps cleanse the body. It removes oxalic and lactic acid. With the help of biologically active substances that are part of them, you can stabilize blood pressure, prevent sclerosis, eliminate headaches and stabilize intracranial pressure. The fruits also strengthen the walls of blood vessels and make capillaries less fragile. It is advisable to use it for venous insufficiency, inflammation of the veins and swelling of the legs. The fruits improve appetite and have positive influence on metabolic processes in the body.

Description of dogwood varieties

Dogwood variety Vladimirsky

The fruit ripening period begins in mid-August and ends in early September. The fruit sizes are large. Productivity is high. On average, one berry weighs about 7.5 grams. The fruits are firmly attached to the branches.

Dogwood variety Vydubetsky

The fruits ripen around the twentieth of August. The berries are distinguished by their large size. On average, one fruit weighs 6.5–7.6 grams. The berries are well attached to the branches.

Variety Coral Brand

The ripening period of this mid-early variety falls on average on August 15–20. The berries are pink-orange in color. They can be round and barrel-shaped, similar to cherry plum fruits. On average, the weight of one berry is 5.8–6 grams.

Variety Lukyanovsky

The variety begins to ripen on average at the end of August. The shape of large fruits is bottle-shaped. The berries are dark scarlet in color, which changes to black as they ripen. The average weight of one berry is about 6 grams.

Variety Gentle

The ripening period will fall on average on August 20–25. Bottle-shaped berries are different yellow. The harvest can be harvested consistently every year.

Variety Firefly

The period of mass ripening begins at the end of August and ends at the beginning of September. Firefly is the most large-fruited variety. The shape of the berries is bottle-shaped with a thickened neck. On average, the weight of one fruit is in the range of 6.5–7.5 grams.

Growing dogwood. Video

The main distribution area of dogwood is southern latitudes (Crimea, Caucasus). But this shrub can successfully take root in other regions if it is planted correctly and simple care rules are followed.

Dogwood bush

Variety selection

Most of the unsuccessful experiences associated with growing dogwood in the country are associated with wrong selection varieties. Dogwood is characterized by an early onset of flowering, but a long growing season (up to 250 days). Therefore, in order for the plant to take root in mid-latitudes, you should choose early varieties dogwood. If you plan to plant a shrub to obtain a harvest, and not to decorate the site, you should also pay attention to large-fruited varieties.

In the photo there is a dogwood with red berries

Optimal for country cultivation the following are considered:

Coral Brand;
Dogwood variety Coral Brand
Evgenia;
Vydubetsky;
Gentle;
Dogwood Tender
Vladimirsky;
Kizil Vladimirsky

Dogwood variety
Firefly.

These varieties are suitable for both amateur and industrial cultivation.

The success of cultivation also depends on the type of seedlings. There are three ways to obtain dogwood seedlings:

sowing seeds;
cuttings;
grafting varieties onto rootstock.

Dogwood seedlings

At gardening markets you can find the first, second, and third. Seedlings obtained by sowing are the cheapest, but also the least high quality - they produce a harvest only 10-12 years after planting. Plants obtained by green cuttings are grown in greenhouses and retain much more cultural characteristics compared to seeds. They bear fruit already in 3-4 years and are more resistant to diseases. Seedlings obtained by grafting onto a rootstock are considered elite - the berries can be collected already in the second year after planting.

Organic dogwood seedlings

For planting, you should choose two-year-old seedlings; annual ones will not take root in the soils of the middle zone. The ideal structure of a seedling is about 1.5 m in height, the diameter of the main column is 1.8-2 cm, 4-5 skeletal branches.

Soil preparation

In its natural habitat, dogwood can take root in any soil, but when grown in the middle zone, it feels best on loose soils, with a high location of the aquifer. However, dogwood will not grow in swampy soils where groundwater is close to the surface. The best place for planting - next to tall bushes or trees that will cast partial shade. In the open sun, dogwood flower buds will develop poorly.

Planting pits for seedlings

Dimensions of planting pits for planting seedlings:

depth - 0.6-0.8 m;
diameter - 0.8 m;
the distance between holes is 3-5 m.

Planting dogwood

Planting is done in the fall, at the end of September-beginning of October. The stake is driven in on the leeward side, and the seedling itself is placed in the ground on the other. The root system is carefully straightened, making sure that the neck is 3-4 cm above the ground level.

When digging a hole, the top and bottom layers of soil should be placed separately. This is necessary in order to subsequently combine the top fertile layer with mineral and organic fertilizers (preferably humus). After placing the seedling in the hole, the top enriched layer of soil is first laid, and the soil from the bottom layer is used for mulching.

How to plant a seedling correctly

Planting a dogwood seedling

If there is a shortage of space, it is possible to plant seedlings of different varieties in one hole. After being placed in the soil, both trunks are intertwined. Over time, such seedlings will grow into one plant with a thick spiral-shaped trunk, but with two types of fruit.

The formation of a plant depends on what you ultimately want to get - a bush or a tree. In order for the seedling to grow into a neat tree, the lower shoots are pruned during the first 3-4 years. If the plant is not pruned, a spreading dogwood bush will form. Some varieties are suitable for decorative design plot. For getting beautiful shape Palmette skeletal branches are bent and fixed with rope to pegs, which are then replaced with trellises made of posts.

Experienced gardeners recommend shortening shoots by a third immediately after planting to balance the root and above-ground systems. During the first year, the growth of the seedling does not exceed 0.3-0.5 m, then the plant shows rapid growth, increasing by 1-1.2 m annually.

When to prune dogwood

How to prune dogwood

Secondary pruning of dogwood

Care

Dogwood does not require special care, needing only regular watering in the first year after planting. The soil is moistened 2 times a week, evenly distributing the water around the column. There is no need to pour water right under the pole; the dogwood root system is developed enough to absorb moisture within a radius of 0.5 m. To prevent water from spreading on the ground, you need to dig a furrow around the seedling. If a drip irrigation system is installed on the site, then watering is greatly simplified. In the first growing season, it is necessary to monitor the condition of the leaves: if they begin to dry out and curl, it means that the plant lacks moisture. Also, during the first 3 years after planting, until the seedling finally gets stronger, you need to monitor the cleanliness of the soil around it. All weeds growing within a radius of 1 m from the seedling must be removed.

To improve the air exchange of the layer where the root system is located, periodic loosening of the soil to a depth of 10 cm is necessary. It is more convenient to loosen the soil the next day after watering, while simultaneously uprooting the weeds.

Soil liming

Feeding dogwood is not necessary, but the plant responds very well to it, demonstrating better productivity. Fertilizers are applied in spring (early spring feeding) and autumn. In spring, dogwood is fed twice. First time deposit organic fertilizers. The best option is slurry diluted with water in a ratio of 1/3. This fertilizing ensures the formation of the current crop and the simultaneous provision of nutrients for the next season. During the second spring feeding, nitrogen (40-50 g per plant) and potassium (20-30 g) fertilizers are added to the soil.

Growing dogwood

In autumn, the bushes are fed with organic (8-10 kg per plant) and phosphorus fertilizers.

Reproduction

Dogwood can be propagated in different ways:

seeds;
root suckers;
rootstock;
horizontal and arcuate layers.

When breeding seed method stratification of fruit seeds is carried out. They are placed in damp sawdust and left in this state for 12 months. It is advisable to carry out stratification a year before planting, i.e. in the fall. Stratified seeds have good germination, unlike dry seeds, which germinate in a ratio of approximately 50/50. After the first growing season, the seedlings grow only 3-4 cm, but in the second year, provided sufficient watering and fertilizing are provided, they reach a height of 10-15 cm and are ready for transplanting into the nursery.

Dogwood seeds

Dogwood from seeds

At reproduction by offspring used as seedling material root shoots surrounding an adult plant. It is separated from the main bush and transplanted into the nursery in the fall or spring.

At rootstock propagation 2-year-old seedlings are grafted into a root collar or bole. The grafted dogwood is dropped into containers with a sand-peat mixture to the level of the connection between the rootstock and the scion. The container is then placed in a cool greenhouse or on a stand in a greenhouse. After the junction has completely grown together, the plant is planted in open ground.

At propagation by layering Shallow furrows are dug in the soil around an adult plant. Young branches bend down and pin to the grooves. After shoots up to 12 cm long develop from the buds of pinned shoots, they are sprinkled with soil mixed with humus. After 2-3 weeks, when the shoots have increased by another 10-15 cm, they are sprinkled again. When the pinned shoots take root, they are separated from the mother plant and moved either to a nursery or to open ground.

Reproduction of dogwood by layering

Reproduction of dogwood by cuttings

Some gardeners practice dogwood cuttings propagation, but this method demonstrates a low rooting percentage (4-6 established plants out of every 10 planted).

Video - Planting dogwood

Residents of the middle zone know little about this wonderful berry; planting dogwood is mostly familiar to residents of the southern regions. In the Crimea and the Caucasus, jams and preserves are prepared from sweet and sour fruits; they are added to many national dishes. The plant is valued not only for useful fruits, but also for very durable wood. Depending on the gardener’s preferences, cultivation can be carried out in the form of both a tree and a bush.

Why is dogwood unpopular in cold regions?

Dogwood is unpretentious and does not require complex care. In the southern regions, wild varieties form huge thickets, and the berries taste qualities no worse than cultivated varieties. The hardy tree is not afraid of frost, only temperatures below -30⁰ can damage its branches. If such phenomena are short-lived, young shoots can be covered, and they will overwinter well. Unlike fruit trees, which produce good harvests every 2 years, dogwood does not need rest; it bears fruit every season. Why is this wonderful plant unpopular with summer residents in the middle zone and in the north?

The growing season of dogwood is about 250 days, and it blooms very early. Spring frosts in cold regions can destroy the ovaries, but even if the owners manage to preserve them, the fruits often do not have time to ripen. Breeders are working to solve this problem; species with early ripening of berries have already been bred. Planting and growing zoned varieties often brings rich harvests.

The common dogwood blooms when it is still cool outside, the temperature is about +12⁰. In such weather, bees cannot pollinate flowers. To allow the wind to transfer pollen from one plant to another, plant at least 2 trees close to each other on the site. Some gardeners believe that shrubs can pollinate themselves. Maybe, but the harvest will be very meager. But if you plant a bush of a different variety nearby and provide them good care, almost all flowers will turn into berries.

If it is impossible to find a place for another tree on the site, plant 2 seedlings of different varieties in one hole. Intertwine the trunks, and they will develop as one bush and pollinate each other.

Place for planting southern shrubs

Dogwood loves soils rich in lime, with a neutral or alkaline reaction. It is desirable that manganese be present in the soil, otherwise it needs to be added when fertilizing; dogwood needs this element. It does not tolerate groundwater; its depth must be at least 1.5 m. In low areas it is necessary to make good drainage, and sometimes even build a mound.

The shrub does not like crowded spaces; it needs that there are no fences, buildings, other trees or tall bushes within a radius of 4-5 m. The common dogwood is a long-liver; it grows in one place for up to 100 years. Over time, the crown increases in diameter, and new fruit-bearing shoots appear. If the planting is too crowded, the crown will begin to narrow and the yield will decrease.

The plant develops well in partial shade, but in the complete absence of sunlight the harvest will be poor. It is advisable to plant shrubs north of tall tree. On a hot afternoon, the foliage will protect the dogwood from scorching rays, and in the morning and evening it will receive good lighting. If the entire south side is open, tall poles with a clothesline or other temporary structure can be installed.

Where to get planting material

Ready-made seedlings can be purchased at nurseries. Two-year-old trees about 1.5 m high take root well. They should have a fairly thick trunk - at least 2 cm in diameter - and 5 main branches. It is advisable to purchase varieties bred in your region; they will not have to adapt to new conditions.

If you prefer planting from self-harvested material, you can use one of the methods:

planting seeds;
layering;
cuttings;
root suckers;
dividing the bush;
budding.

For residents of the northern regions, where selected dogwood varieties die from frost, the only way to grow this shrub is to plant seeds. Take seeds from different varieties of fruit, sow them and see how the plants survive. Dogwood will not retain all varietal qualities with this method of propagation; even from berries from one bush, trees with different properties can develop. For several years, observe how the bushes endure the winter, what kind of harvest they produce, and leave the best specimens. From them you can take cuttings and layering for further propagation.

If you want dogwood seeds to germinate quickly, keep them in a 2% sulfuric acid solution for 3 days, and then sow them in damp sand, keep them in a warm place and make sure that the surface of the soil does not dry out. The grains will begin to hatch within 3 months.

In spring, low branches can be pressed to the ground and covered with soil. Make small trenches in the soil and place one-year-old shoots in them. Cut off the top so that the main forces go to the formation of roots. If provided proper care, by autumn the shoot will take root. Cut it from the main bush and you will have a seedling ready for planting.

Often around the bush you can notice new shoots growing from the roots. You can dig up a shoot with a fragment of the underground part and transplant it to a new place. This planting is not suitable for grafted plants: if a wild bush was taken for the rootstock, then the offspring will be wild.

You can divide an adult bush into parts, but each fragment must have a good root system and a strong above-ground part. This work can be carried out either in early spring or in autumn before frost.

Another way is to plant green cuttings from mature bushes.

If strong wood has already formed inside the shoot, the cutting will not take root.

Cut branches 10-15 cm long with two pairs of leaves. Remove the bottom pair and treat the cut with a root growth stimulator. Stick the shoots into the soil, sprinkled with a thick layer of clean sand and equip a shelter with film. 2-3 weeks before rooting, keep the plantings at a temperature of about +25⁰ and protect from bright sun. The soil must be constantly moist. When the seedlings take root, feed them with ammonium nitrate. Next autumn, young plants can be moved to a permanent place.

How to graft dogwood

If you want, you can grow seedlings from seeds. Perhaps they will make a productive tree or a good rootstock for budding. The grains require a long stratification; they need to be kept in the refrigerator for almost a year. When sowing, keep in mind that the seed does not open; a small hole appears in it, through which a weak sprout emerges. If you bury the seeds deeper than 3 cm, the seedlings may not break through. The shoots grow very slowly, they require care, and the tree will begin to bear fruit only after 7 years. Dogwood loves to surprise gardeners. If ripe fruits germinate for more than a year, then unripe seeds may develop sprouts after 6 months.

Wild dogwood seeds can be used for growing good rootstock for a varietal bush. Sow many different grains, the sprouts will not take up much space on the site, but you can choose the strongest and hardiest seedling. At the age of 2 years, when the bush has taken root well after transplantation, it can be grafted. In mid-summer, cut off a bud with bark and a small layer of wood from the plant you like. A cross-shaped cut is made horizontally and vertically on the rootstock. The scion is inserted into the vertical slot and fixed special tape or tape.

All shoots below the grafting site on the rootstock must be cut off. Make sure that the plant does not produce new wild branches. After a month, the fixing tape must be removed. Cultivate the bush in the usual way. Next spring New shoots will appear from the bud, and after 2 years you will taste the first fruits.

If you want to grow different varieties dogwood, and there is only enough space on the site for 2 bushes, plant each tree with several buds of different varieties.

When growing fruit trees, grafting of young shoots is often used, but here too the dogwood shows its individuality. In early spring, before the growing season begins, you can try to graft a cutting. This method rarely gives results; despite careful care, the shoots do not grow well. If, with skillful budding, up to 70% of the buds take root, then successful grafting occurs no more than 20%.

Planting shrubs

Dogwood should be planted in the fall. Each region has its own time when to begin this work. Popular wisdom recommends: the most effective planting occurs at the time when the poplar begins to shed its leaves. In the spring in the middle zone it is very difficult to guess the right time for planting: the period when the soil has already warmed up and the buds have not yet begun to bloom.

Dig holes 80 cm deep and 80 cm in diameter at a distance of about 5 m from one another. Drive a stake into the ground from the direction of the prevailing winds; it will hold the tree in windy weather. Place the seedling behind the stake and bury it so that the root collar is a few centimeters above ground level. After watering and rain, the soil will settle and it will take the desired position. First pour into the hole fertile soil from the top layer so that the roots take root in the nutrient medium. Water the soil well and tie the trunk to a stake. After a heavy rainfall, make sure that the depth is calculated correctly: if the planting is high and the root collar is above the surface of the ground, the bush will develop poorly, and when buried, it will produce a lot of root shoots, which will make caring for the plant difficult.

Some gardeners believe that all branches of a seedling need to be shortened by a third, others do not do this, and the tree takes root well. It’s up to you to decide what to do; you can cut shoots on one bush and not on another and see what’s best. Do not forget that each plot has its own soil, its own microclimate, and therefore crops are grown according to different schemes. Any recommendations need to be checked in practice; each owner should have individual experience and knowledge of what care his pets require.

Does the unpretentious dogwood need care?

Caring for dogwood trees is easy, but you can make the job even easier by covering the ground around the trunk with a thick layer of mulch after planting. Make sure that the root collar is not covered; it should be exposed to air. Weeds will not grow through compost or mowed grass; the soil there will always be loose and moist. Dogwood roots are mainly located in top layer soil. In dry weather, you need to water the bushes, or better yet, organize a drip irrigation system.

From May to autumn, the bush works hard: energy is spent both on the formation of fruits and on growing young shoots. For these processes to occur correctly, the plant needs a sufficient amount of nutrients. Until mid-summer, use fertilizers with a predominance of nitrogen and phosphorus, and in the second half of the season potassium is needed. In nature, dogwood prefers calcareous soils, because without calcium, growth and fruit formation are impossible. If the soil of your site does not have this component, add it to the fertilizer.

Dogwood does not need frequent pruning. Before the growing season begins, only diseased, dry and broken branches should be cut off so that they do not become a source of infection. To give the young plant a shape, leave a low, about half a meter, standard and 5 skeletal branches. To rejuvenate plants older than 20 years, prune branches that are 4 years old. In their place, new fruiting shoots will appear. The tree tolerates pruning well, and if you want to use it as an ornamental plant, you can give the crown an unusual shape.

Dogwood is resistant to diseases and pests, and proper care will make the bush even stronger. Still, do not forget to inspect the plant from time to time in order to notice problems in time.

Powdery mildew – white coating on the shoots. Treat the plant with colloidal sulfur.
Rust - yellow spots on the leaves. The bush needs to be sprayed with Bordeaux mixture.
Spotting. Bordeaux mixture will also help with this disease.
Snail scale insect. The pest is destroyed with lime.
Multicolor caterpillar. Spray dogwoods with Parisian greens.

Conclusion

Dogwood can be grown and harvested not only in the south, but also in the northern regions. If you provide the plant with proper care, it will bear fruit for up to 100 years. You can leave one trunk and grow the dogwood as a tree, or leave the lower shoots unpruned and have a bush.

In order for dogwood to develop well and bear fruit, you need to choose the right varieties and planting method. Growing from seeds is a labor-intensive task, but sometimes this is the only method possible in northern areas. Good results budding gives: on a winter-hardy rootstock you can try to grow shoots of tender varieties.

Dogwood is tenacious and unpretentious; it will tolerate any conditions. Does the plant need care? If you want to eat berries in sufficient quantities, do not forget about watering and fertilizing. You can leave the bush completely unattended, but it will not produce good harvests. Love your green pets, and your plot will always be beautiful and productive.

" Garden

Dogwood is not often found in our area. But since this plant has unsurpassed beneficial properties, it is worth thinking about starting to grow it in your summer cottage.

Planting a dogwood and subsequently caring for it is not a complicated procedure at all, which even a novice gardener can do. This shrub is unpretentious, and at the same time has tasty berries.

Dogwood prefers the warm climate of the Caucasus and Transcaucasia, where it grows in mountain forests, on sunny edges, as well as in thickets of other shrubs. In addition, it grows in Ukraine, Crimea, Central and Southern Europe, as well as in Western Asia. In Russia, dogwood is successfully cultivated in various areas - the Moscow region, Krasnodar Territory and other regions.

For long-term storage of berries at home, they are picked as they begin to ripen. The fruits are placed in small baskets where they ripen, and then stored at a temperature of 0 – +2 C.

In their raw form, dogwood berries are stored in the refrigerator (in a plastic bag with holes) for no more than 12 days.

Reproduction of dogwood by seeds at home

Dogwood, like all fruit plants, retains its varietal properties during vegetative propagation. Dogwood can be propagated by grafting, green cuttings and replantings. The most effective way- reproduction by budding, the survival rate of the eyes is 92-97%

When to plant dogwood in different regions of Russia?

Advantages and disadvantages of autumn planting

Autumn planting has a number of advantages:

Dogwood seedlings planted in autumn have time to heal damaged roots over the winter and grow new suction roots by spring. Thanks to this, the young plant is able to withstand early spring droughts and hot winds characteristic of the southern regions without complications.
It is much more profitable to purchase dogwood in the fall. Gardeners and nurseries sell freshly dug planting materials, resulting in a huge selection of products at affordable prices.
Autumn planting is a bit of a hassle. It is enough to do only one watering, and nature will do the rest of the work on its own. Rainy weather in autumn provides the dogwood with the necessary state of humidity and comfort.
Another important advantage is time saving. Autumn planting of dogwood seedlings frees up a large amount of time and energy for other work, which becomes quite plentiful with the onset of spring.

Autumn planting also has certain disadvantages.:

Severe frosts can destroy fragile plants. In winter there are strong winds, snowfalls and other weather adversities that can break young trees and shrubs.
Rodents pose a danger to shrubs, feeding on seedlings in late autumn and winter.

Sometimes freshly picked dogwood berries with pericarp are planted in August. Germination in this case is 70-80% after 1.5 years from the date of sowing.

Important rules when planting dogwood

During planting, certain rules must be followed:

It is advisable to plant dogwood in a shaded place., between the trees. In this way, you can save garden space and solve the problem of using low-light areas on the site.
When choosing a site the location of groundwater should be taken into account, since the dogwood root system branches at a level of 1 m from the ground surface.
For good yield It is recommended to plant several different varieties of plants I, because they bloom at the same time.
When planting shrubs humus, manure, mineral fertilizers are not used. All you need is land and water.

Below is a detailed description of the process of planting dogwood in a garden plot.

How to prepare a seedling?

The rhizome of the seedling should be well moistened. In case of long-term transportation, it is wrapped in damp material and placed in a plastic bag. If the roots have dried out during transportation, they should be placed in water for several days before planting.. If after purchasing it is not possible to immediately plant the seedling, it is buried at an angle in a shaded place. Here it is important that the soil covers all the roots, as well as half of the seed. A abundantly watered plant in this form can be stored for a month.

Choosing a place for planting in a garden plot or cottage

To check the acidity of the soil, drop 2 drops of table vinegar onto a handful of soil. In an alkaline environment, small bubbles appear, indicating the required amount of lime.

Dogwood does not survive in marshy soils. In addition, clayey areas and poorly lit areas should be avoided. Partial shade is perfect for the first 5 years of growing this shrub.. Then the dogwood can be transplanted to a sufficiently lit area of the garden. To save space, it is recommended to plant shrubs between old trees, which with their shade will protect its root system from drying out. Dogwood gets along with every fruit plant, with the exception of walnut.

Description of the process of planting seedlings on open ground in autumn

To properly plant dogwood, you must follow these steps::

Before planting, the plant should be carefully inspected again and trim broken branches and damaged roots. Then treat all the roots well with pre-prepared clay mash. When planting in the fall, you need to carefully remove the foliage from the dogwood.
The hole for the seedling should easily accommodate the rhizome. Will do pit 30 – 50 cm deep.
Having dug a hole, into it drive in a stake, to which you will then need to tie the plant.
Approximately 15 cm of pebbles are placed at the bottom of the hole or expanded clay. If the soil is poor, one third of the drainage is covered with leaf soil.
Dogwood prefers potassium-rich soil. You can enrich it with lime, mixed with the substrate in a ratio of 150 g per 1 mg.
When placing a seedling in a hole, its roots should be carefully straightened, and the root collar is under 2 - 3 cm of soil.
When filling the hole, you need to make sure that no voids appear around the roots. To avoid this the planted material should be trampled down and watered well b.
A shrub is a must mulch about 10 - 15 cm. This procedure is necessary to ensure that the superficial roots do not dry out. For this you can use pine needles, sawdust, straw or hay.
7 days after landing the bud near the dogwood should be compacted and watered again.

Shrub care is an important point for getting a good harvest.

Dogwood does not require special care. The main thing is to water it constantly for one year from the time of planting. Watering is carried out 2 times during the week. To prevent water from spreading over the area, it is worth making a furrow around the seedling.

Some gardeners add humus and compost alternately, or every year at the beginning of the summer period add water with chicken droppings to the plants in a ratio of 10:1. Others make fertilizers from 0.03 kg of ammonium nitrate and one bucket of humus. At the end of August, 0.5 liters of wood ash are poured under an adult plant. And at the end of the harvest, it is advisable to add 0.1 kg of superphosphates. However, lime is recognized as the most important fertilizer. Thanks to it, potassium is present in the soil, which affects the future number of fruits.

When caring for dogwood, regular tillage is important.. It is carried out annually at least 6-7 times, regardless of the age and fruitfulness of the bush. Processing begins in the spring and ends in the fall, after all the fruits have been collected. The final stage of loosening the soil around the plant is mulching it.

How to transplant an ordinary dogwood?

If there is a need to transplant a plant from one area to another, the propagation method is used by dividing the bush.

The common dogwood is long-lived. It can produce excellent harvests for 100 years. Therefore, if you plant a dogwood, it will delight more than one generation with its tasty and healthy berries.

The easiest way to grow a dogwood bush is by digging up and replanting the root shoots, or by cuttings, but it is not always possible to purchase one planting material, and then you can try to germinate dogwood seeds by buying ripe berries at the market or in a store. The germination rate of the seeds is not very high - about 60%, but this deficiency can be easily compensated by sowing more seeds, and then there is hope that several of them will definitely germinate.

Features of germination of dogwood seeds

Inside the juicy pulp of the dogwood there is an oblong-shaped bone, which in turn can consist of one, two or three seeds. To extract them from the fruit, dogwood is poured warm water in a small vessel and cover. After some time, the fruits will begin to ferment, and then they will be ground, separated from the pulp. The difficulty is that before sowing, the seeds must undergo a very long stratification, without which their germination rate will be zero. The washed bones are mixed with sawdust and placed in the refrigerator for stratification, which lasts one and a half years. This means that if you put the seeds in the refrigerator in the fall, you can sow them after two winters.

There is another way to carry out cold treatment. Sow dogwood seeds in the beds in a mixture of sand and humus, and leave them there for two years. The sowing site should be fenced off so that something else is not accidentally planted in this place and weeding is not carried out here. All weeds should be pulled out carefully by hand or simply cut off at the root so that dogwood seeds are not removed from the ground along with the weed roots. After a year and a half, in May or early June, dogwood sprouts will begin to appear at the planting site. All summer they need careful care with watering and loosening, and by autumn you will have strong bushes.

Dogwood through seedlings

After stratification in the refrigerator, dogwood seeds can be sown in open ground or seedlings can be grown, but before that they should be warmed well, for example, near a radiator. This can be done at the end of February for one week, and at the beginning of March sow in a box with a soil mixture consisting of equal parts of sand, humus and fertile land. The box is covered with a dark film and placed in a warm place. You need to observe what is happening under the film, and when the first shoots hatch, place them on the windowsill.

Seedlings are planted in the ground with the onset of stably warm weather in an area with partial shade. The soil under the plants is mulched, and at first systematic watering and weeding are carried out.

Sowing seeds in open ground

Seeds that have undergone stratification are sown in open ground in early May. Furrows 3 cm deep are made in the garden bed, and seeds are planted in them. At this time, crops need constant moderate humidity, so you can arrange an improvised film cover over them, which will protect the soil from drying out. When the seeds hatch, shoots appear, and then the first leaves appear, the film can be removed.

The seedlings grown with such difficulty should be protected from the hot summer sun, drying out soil and excessive humidity, so that by autumn the bushes will become stronger and be able to survive their first winter.

Dogwood wintering

Young plants need winter shelter in the first year. The base of the bushes is covered with humus or loose soil, and the remaining part is covered with fallen leaves or spruce branches. In the spring, the cover is removed in several stages - first the leaves are removed, and after a few days the entire bush is cleared of the ground. Before the buds open, the seedlings are transferred to a permanent place, sunny and spacious. Dogwood grown from seeds will begin to bear fruit no earlier than five years later.