How to Grow and Care for Pagoda Dogwood

Pagoda dogwood is a great tree to plant in partial shade.Named for its tiered, horizontal branching, this shrub or medium-size tree grows 15 to 25 feet tall, producing yellowish-white flowers in flattened clumps in late spring. Bluish-black berries follow the flowers to provide winter interest. New leaves and fall foliage have a reddish-purple or reddish-coppery coloration that is green for the rest of the growing season. This dogwood starts growing slowly, but as its roots get established, it develops a fast growth rate of up to 2 feet per year. It grows best in woodland, understory conditions with partial or dappled sunlight, and loamy, acidic soil.

Pagoda Dogwood Care

Here are the main care requirements for growing a pagoda dogwood:

• Plant a pagoda dogwood in a location with partial sun or dappled shade.
• Keep the soil loamy, acidic, and moderately moist but well-drained, and incorporate compost before planting for water retention.
• Apply mulch around the base to help retain water and buffer the trunk from lawnmower damage.
• Give pagoda dogwood 1 inch of water weekly if there is no rain.
• Lightly prune a pagoda dogwood in late winter if desired.
  

Light

Pagoda dogwood prefers dappled shade, mimicking the understory conditions beneath large trees. In southern locations, it appreciates more shade; in colder regions, it tolerates more sun.

Soil

This tree likes loamy soil that is relatively moist but well-drained. It tolerates a pH between 4.8 and 7.3 but does best in slightly acidic soil.

Water

Pagoda dogwood requires about an inch of water a week and should be watered when there's a lack of rain.

Temperature and Humidity

This tree's natural habitat is the understory of cool, moist woodlands near ravines, stream banks, and bordering swamps from New Brunswick to Minnesota in the North, and northern Georgia and Alabama in the South. It thrives in moderately cool summer temperatures and average humidity. Provide shade in hot climates and mulch the area to keep it cool.

Fertilizer

Pagoda dogwood does not require feeding; mulching over the root zone provides sufficient nutrients. Or, work compost into the top few inches of soil beneath the tree each spring.

Types of Pagoda Dogwood

In addition to the straight species (the tree as you would find it in the wild), there are two cultivars of pagoda dogwood:

• C. alternifolia 'Golden Shadows': This trademarked cultivar with green and gold variegated leaves grows 10 to 12 feet tall with a similar spread.
• C. alternifolia 'Argentea': Known as silver pagoda dogwood, its leaves are variegated with white margins that give them a silvery effect. The tree grows 12 to 15 feet wide and spreads 10 to 20 feet.

Pruning

Pagoda dogwood needs minimal pruning. Remove any crossing, deformed, or damaged branches in the late winter or early spring before leafing out.

If you prefer to grow pagoda dogwood as a tree, you can shape it by removing the lower branches over its first few years while the tree is still young.

Propagating Pagoda Dogwood

Like other dogwood species, pagoda dogwood is best propagated by rooting stem cuttings. Note, however, that propagating the popular cultivar 'Golden Shadows' by any method is prohibited because it is trademarked. Follow these steps for other pagoda dogwoods:

1. Cut a 6-inch length of stem from the tip of a branch. Make sure there are four to six leaves. Pinch off the bottom pair of leaves from the stem, leaving wounds in the stem.
2. Fill a small pot with rooting medium—either a commercial mixture or a make-your-own mixture of sand and perlite. Moisten the rooting medium with water. Dip the bottom 1 1/2 inches of the stem into the rooting hormone. Bury the bottom of the cutting 1 1/2 inches deep in the rooting medium and pack the medium tightly around the stem.
3. Place the cutting and pot inside a large plastic bag and seal, ensuring the leaves don't touch the bag. Check the cutting once a week to see if it has developed roots. Either look at the bottom of the pot to see if roots are coming through, or give the stem a gentle tug to see if it is anchored.
4. Remove the plastic bag once roots have developed, place the pot in a sunny window, and keep it moist. Fertilize with a diluted liquid fertilizer every two weeks until the plant grows well.
5. When the cutting outgrows its pot, move it into a larger pot filled with regular potting soil. Well-established new plants can be transferred to the landscape in the fall.

How to Grow Pagoda Dogwood From Seed

Collect seeds from native pagoda dogwood for propagation. Variegated cultivars cannot be reproduced true to type from seed. Take these steps in the fall:

1. Collect the seeds and sow them 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep in a prepared outdoor bed with natural soil. Choose a location where the seedlings will get partial shade during the summer, especially during the hot afternoon hours.
2. Mulch and mark the location well.
3. The seeds need two to three months of cold stratification at 40°F, followed by temperatures between70°F to 85°F at which the seeds germinate. Overall, it takes 13 to 14 weeks for the seeds to germinate.
4. Once the seedlings emerge in the spring, water them if it does not rain and keep the bed weed-free. Let the seedlings grow for at least another season before transplanting them.

Tip

A pagoda dogwood may reseed itself. In the wild, pagoda dogwood forms smallcolonies. Remove the volunteer seedlings if you don't want them.

Potting and Repotting Pagoda Dogwood

Pagoda dogwood is not a good choice for container growing. In addition to its considerable height and spread, its fibrous, spreading root systemneeds space. The root zone must be kept cool, which is very difficult for a container plant during the summer.

Overwintering

As a native plant, pagoda dogwood is well adapted to the cold hardiness conditions in its climate range and does not need overwintering protection. It is the hardiest of the dogwood trees, growing well in USDA hardiness zones 3 through 7.

Common Pests & Plant Diseases

Dogwoods are prone to leaf spot, twig and leaf blights, root rot, and canker. Occasional insect pests include scale, leafminers, and borers. Damaging the lower trunks by lawnmowers or weed trimmers makes the shrubs susceptible to insect infestation.

Dogwoods are prone to leaf spot, twig and leaf blights, root rot, and canker.

How to Get Pagoda Dogwood to Bloom

Bloom Months

Pagoda dogwood blooms in May and June, producing fruits in July and August. Pagoda dogwood blooms last about three to four weeks.

What Do Pagoda Dogwood Flowers Look and Smell Like?

Pagoda dogwood has fragrant,convex clusters of miniature yellowish-white flowers that bloom at the branch tips. The scent resembles honeysuckle.

How to Encourage More Blooms

Carefully selecting the planting site is the best way to ensure your pagoda tree will bloom. A lack of flowers, or poor flowering, might be due to excess nitrogen (often the cause when planted in the center of a lawn). Other potential causes are a lack of water, or just the opposite, too much if the tree is planted in poorly draining soil.

Common Problems With Pagoda Dogwood

Wildlife Damage

Pagoda dogwood attracts deer and rabbits, and their feeding habits badly damage the bark and branches. Young trees are especially susceptible and may need to be protected with fences if rabbits or deer are a problem.

Yellowing Branches or Trunk

Golden canker is a disease spread by a fungus that looks like yellow blisters on the surface of branches, stems, and sometimes the tree trunk. Golden canker does not affect the roots of the tree. However, if it spreads to the main trunk, it will kill everything above the point of infection. It's only a matter of time before the entire tree dies.

The fungus turns the infected areas bright yellow, orange, or tan and kills the leaves along that branch or stem. Prune away the discolored parts to stop the fungus from spreading; pruning is best done when the tree is dormant in the cold weather months. Sterilize the pruning shears between each cut. Destroy the diseased branches.

Browning Leaves

If you notice browning leaves and don't notice golden canker yellowing, it could be leaf scorch if the browning is happening during hot weather. Heat causes dogwood leaves to turn brown along the edges and between the veins. Other heat or water stress signs includedrooping, reddening, and curling leaves. Give more water during periods of high heat.

From: thespruce