Cornus amomum
If you ’re searching for a plant to liven up a especially soggy spot in your yard , consider silky cornel ( Cornus amomum ) .
This species is cold hardy , remarkably pest and disease resistive , and very easy to grow .
As long as you could provide full sun and ordered wet , this unfussy , intermediate - sized native bush might just be right for your landscape painting .
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Silky dogwood is base produce raging in wet areas as far north as Ontario and Maine and S through Missouri and Florida .
Thriving in average to copious , damp , freely run out soil , C. amomumnaturally come about in swamps , flood plain , wetland , and around streams and pond .
In ourguide to growing dogwood , we enter theCornusgenus and the spacious form of different mintage .
This guide focuses on silky cornel , a native , humbled - criminal maintenance shrub .
Here ’s what I ’ll track :
What You’ll Learn
Quick Look
How to Grow
Where to Buy
Propagation
Pests and Disease
Growing up to 12 foot high-pitched and six foot wide , this shrub can come out somewhat gangly and unkempt .
spread out fairly rapidly , slick dogwood tree often produces roots where low subdivision touch wet grime , creating dense coppice .
Leaves are fairly nondescript , ellipse - shaped , gambol the looping venous blood system characteristic of manyCornusspecies . The hairy undersides of the leaves are what give the plant its uncouth name .
In May and June , clusters of small , creamy white or yellowish blossoms adorn the plant , pull a kind of louse from bees to butterflies .
Towards the end of summer and beginning of declination , pollinated flowers give way to cobalt blue Berry .
This is undoubtedly when silklike dogwood is at its most ornamental – when a little early fall color comes creeping into the leaves and foreground the rich , dark , clump of berry .
Common name(s):Silky or swamp dogwood
works type : Woody shrub
Hardiness ( USDA Zone):5 - 8
Native to : North America
efflorescence time / season : Spring flowers , drop berries
Exposure : Full to part sunshine
Soil eccentric : Moist , prolific , well - draining
grease pH:5.5 - 7.0 , slightly acidulent to achromatic
Time to maturity:5 years
Mature size:6 - 12 ft wide x 12 ft high-pitched
good use : Erosion control , wetland works , windbreak , wildlife garden
Taxonomy
lodge : Cornales
phratry : Cornaceae
Genus : Cornus
Species : Amomum
Hardy in zone 5 to 8,C. amomumcan withstand all but the most frigid of conditions .
It ’s also quite glad with a scrap of implosion therapy or to dry out from time to clip . sleek dogwood is resilient , attractive , and ecologically important .
reach plenty of water , sunshine and elbow room to grow , this hardworking plant will pay its way , draw hordes of pollinators in summertime and mess of bird in the fall .
The real stunner of this North American shrub is its power to make blossoms , fruit , and attract wildlife without you have to vacate a finger .
constitute it somewhere you do n’t have to worry about lachrymation and simply sit back and let it run wild .
This versatile wetland species does not take fertilization and needs no pruning , either .
The principal ingredients you take to develop a substantial , happy , silklike dogwood are sun , fertile soil , and body of water .
Light
Silky dogwood prefers a full sun to partial shade location . It can abide a fair bit of spectre , but you ’ll see less fecund bloom .
turn over its preference for full sun before you start packing it in with other plant .
Soil
Although this species opt the organically - fat , sloughy shores of a wetland or current , C. amomumcan tolerate drier soils once build .
Fertile , well - draining , consistently soil with an acidic to indifferent pH of 5.5 to 7.0 is idealistic .
Water
This species is very tolerant of wet , boggy , ill drain soils , and consistent moisture is non - assignable .
When established , the shrub will be okay with short dry spells but any extended drouth will require subsidiary irrigation .
If you do choose to locate slick cornel somewhere that dries out periodically , ensure to heap a skillful three in ofmulchorcomposton top of the theme zone every spring and summertime .
This extra stratum of insulation will help trap wet . If it does n’t rain to a great extent at least once a week , water deeply .
you could typically discover silken dogwood at plant greenhouse or on-line retailer that narrow in aboriginal flora .
There are n’t any tame varieties of this species available so it ’ll generally be listed as silky dogwood .
You will sometimes come across swampland dogwood tree ( C. obliqua ) which was antecedently considered to be a subspecies ofC. amomum . It ’s quite similar to silky dogwood and often difficult to tell them asunder .
Silky Dogwood
you may find bare roots and plants in # 3 containersavailable at Nature Hills Nursery .
you could propagate silklike cornel from seed , stem cuttings , or transplant glasshouse starts .
Starting this shrub from ejaculate can be quite treacherous , and may be better left to seasoned propagator .
From Seed
If you are collecting your own source you ’ll confront the dodgy task of remove the pulp from the seed prior to sowing .
This slick , sticky body of work is typically done by bird , reptilian , and mammalian stomachs .
The best agency to do this is to soak the fruits in quick water for a twenty-four hour period or two .
The fleshy rind can then be flake off away from the cum with the help of a coarse sponge , some soften sandpaper , or even by removing the blades of a blender and pulsing the fruits in the pee for a few cycles .
When they are clean , permit the source to dry on a report towel .
The seeds require a inhuman period of time known as dusty stratification to kickstart germination .
To achieve this , you may either place your prepared seminal fluid in a bag take with moistened vermiculite and coif it in the fridge for 60 days or seed in trays outdoors in fall and allow nature to handle the social stratification .
If you select to stratify your cum in the fridge , start the physical process so that they ’ll be ready to sow in in spring , near to your last frost escort .
To sow in seeds , organize a flat of moist pot soil and dissipate them across the airfoil . Poke each source down into the soil so it is bury about a quarter of an in deep .
If you sow in in fall , place your categorical outdoors in a location protected from temperature extreme point and mellow current of air . Keep the territory moist , but not soak wet . Seeds will typically start to spud in outflow .
After sprouting , keep the soil consistently moist but not waterlogged . When a month or two has passed , thin your seedling to an column inch apart .
In mid to recent summer , you may pot up the most rich seedling into four - inch pots and go forward to care for them until the follow outpouring when you may transplant out into the garden .
From Stem Cuttings
Many of the mintage in theCornusgenus will steady down from cutting buried straight off in the ground .
Silky dogwood , and its cousinsred branchlet cornel ( C. sericea)and gray-headed dogwood ( C. racemosa ) are all capable of being propagated this way of life .
Cuttings are best deal in the free fall after leafage drop .
Select a long , straight , healthy twig with no wounds or blemish on the bark . Using a clean , sharp-worded duet of pruners , trim a 24 - in - foresightful piece of stem , tilt your gash at a 45 - level angle .
implant the cut of meat cease six to eight inches into very dampish ground . It helps sometimes to use a sturdy stick , or the handle of a garden tool , to make a guide hole . This way you may see the stem does n’t disclose as you slide it into the ground .
Moist soil is essential for this method acting of generation to oeuvre . If your ground dry out out over the wintertime or outflow , verify to water soundly .
foliage evolution in give will countenance you know your cut have rooted and are well on their way to becoming large , sturdy shrub .
Softwood Cuttings
you may also circularise silky cornel from softwood press cutting taken in the summer , after unfolding is finish .
gear up a four - inch pot with equal part potting dirt and vermiculite . check that the substrate is tamped down well and exhaustively moistened .
Select several while of tractile growth , about three to five inch in length . With a needlelike , clean duad of scissors , clip each cut just below a pair of leafage nodes . Remove all the leaf from the lower half of the stem .
eat up the bottom two inches of the cuttings into your prepared toilet , leaving two to three leaf nodes above the soil . Use a pencil to make guide holes . you could grow three cuttings in each four - inch pot .
Create a collapsible shelter around your kitty with a clear plastic bag to make a modified humidness dome . Keep the soil systematically moist , but not waterlogged .
In six to eight weeks , your cuttings should have rooted .
After a month or so of root ontogeny , your new silken dogwood plants can be set out in the garden .
Transplanting
To transplant your cuttings , seedlings , or purchase nursery starts , the process is pretty simple .
Dig a hole a niggling wider than the root ball and just as mysterious . Silky dogwood tree really make out wet , so I personally care to drench the root ball before burying it .
Set the plant in the hole and cover the root with soil , tamp it down as you go . urine in well .
blank space plants six to 10 feet asunder to earmark for mature spread .
Managing Pests and Disease
Pests and disease that disturb this problematic , wetland species are few and far between .
Growing your shrub in optimum gay , soused shape will help it remain vigorous and goodly .
Branches of young plants can sometimes be nibbled on by little rodent , like muskrats , specially if they ’re planted close to water .
Erecting a small , two understructure tall John Cage of chicken wire around your novel plant can serve protect it from harm while it ’s becoming established .
Pests
Although plenty of creepy-crawly crawlies may choose to munch on your silklike dogwood tree , few will actually damage your plant .
In fact , I advocate leaving aboriginal insects alone to flow on your flora as needed .
The only problem you may come across arescale , leaf miners , and borers . Unless the infestation is stern , you do n’t need to do anything .
Read our guide to dogwood tree peststo learn more .
Disease
silklike dogwood is reasonably susceptible to a few meek fungal diseases . None of these publication are particularly problematic and can generally be manage passably easily .
The term “ leaf point ” describe a variety of blemishes and lesion on the foliage , generally as a result of fungous transmission .
You may see black or brown discoloration and the lesions can be orbitual or splotchy and unpredictable .
There ’s not a lot you could do to prevent this emergence , as fungous pathogen are generally prevalent in the damp status favored by this coinage .
Happily , leaf spot is almost never serious , though it can get early leafage drop in the case of a grave infection .
If your plant suffers from foliage office one class the chances are skilful that it will be perfectly ok the keep up year .
Like leaf position , powdery mold is make by numerous different fungal pathogen . This condition is characterise by a white to grey powder coating the upper Earth’s surface of the leaf .
In severe compositor’s case it can cause leafage drop-off .
Powdery mold is primarily an aesthetic trouble . An established , healthy specimen will tolerate an contagion of powdery mildew very well .
You canlearn more about powdery mildew here .
Our guide tocommon dogwood tree diseaseshas more data .
Rugged and Reliable
luckily for the laidback nurseryman among us , silky dogwood really takes care of itself .
Tolerant of varying moisture levels , impervious to utmost frigidity , and barely bothered by pest and diseases , this metal money will draw in beneficial insects and furnish thebirds with tasty Chuck Berry .
Give this species the moist , sunny condition it prefers , mistreat back , and let it fly high .
Do you produce silky dogwood ? Please tell us how you use this terrific species in your own garden . comment and doubt are always welcome , too !
And tolearn more about growing dogwood in your landscape painting , ascertain out these guides next :
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Molly Marquand
