Dogwood is appreciated by gardeners not only as decorative, but also unpretentious, abundantly fruiting shrub. Its sweet and sour berries are very healthy. In the middle zone of Russia, it is still not widespread, but the situation is changing, since breeders have already bred a lot of varieties with increased frost resistance.
Plant description
Dogwood is a genus of shrubs and stunted trees from the Kizilovye family. In nature, culture is widespread in the south and east of Europe, in the Caucasus, in the Crimea, in Asia Minor, also found in China, Japan, South Africa, America.
The name of the plant is due to the bright scarlet color of the berries - in translation from Turkic "dogwood" means "red". This shade is due to the high content of anthocyanins, which are extremely beneficial for health.
The productive life of the plant extends to 150-250 years. During this time, the dogwood shrub grows to 3 m in height, and the tree grows to 5-8 m. The first harvest can be expected 10-12 years after the seedling is planted in the ground. Until this age, shoots differ in growth rate, adding 45-50 cm per season, then it drops sharply, to 8-10 cm per year. After the first fruiting, dogwood brings a crop regularly; for starters, you can count on 12-15 kg of berries from the bush.
The bark on the young branches is green with a yellowish tint, as it grows older, the shade changes to gray, sometimes with an olive or reddish tint. The shoots are quite thin, nyknuyus. Leaves in the form of an elongated oval, with a sharply sharpened tip, are located opposite each other. The front side of the front plate is darker than the inside, glossy glitters.
Dogwood in the south blooms in late March or in the first half of April. The buds open before the leaves. Small bright yellow or creamy white flowers are collected in inflorescences in the form of an umbrella or scutellum with a diameter of 5-6 cm. Depending on the variety, flowering lasts from 15-20 to 60-70 days.
The fruits of dogwood (drupes) ripen for a long time. Usually the crop is harvested in September or in the first half of October. In most natural varieties, the berries are painted in deep scarlet or red-orange. Occasionally there are white, yellow, pinkish, purple, almost black. The average length of the oval or pear-shaped fruit is 2-4 cm, weight 3-6 g. Sweet and sour flesh is very juicy, with a refreshing taste, slightly tart and astringent.
Dogwood does not suffer from autumn frosts. In contrast, frozen berries only improve their taste.
Berries are distinguished by universality of purpose. In addition to eating fresh dogwood, it is dried, frozen, dried, used to prepare sauces for meat dishes, homemade wines, liquors and liquors, as well as preserves and compotes.
Dogwood is a good honey plant, but at the time when it blooms, it is still quite cold. The particular activity of pollinating insects is not observed. Therefore, the culture is considered self-infertile. If the dogwood is planted with the expectation of a future crop, it is advisable to have at least three of its varieties with similar flowering periods.
Common varieties and varieties
Recently dogwood has been popular with breeders. They mainly produce decorative varieties that are widely used in landscape design.
Dogwood
The most common species, including in Russia. The average height of the bush is 2-2.5 m. The flowers are greenish-yellow, the fruits are bright scarlet, elongated. Differs in unpretentiousness, can grow without leaving at all.
Its most popular varieties:
- Pyramidalis. Shrub up to 4 m high with a pyramidal crown;
- Nana A dwarf variety with a height of not more than 1 m, the crown, even without trimming, turns into an almost regular ball;
- Variegata. Bright green leaves with a wide salad or white stripe along the edge;
- Aurea. Very elegant golden yellow leaves;
- Aurea Variegata. Golden spots and stripes stand out against the main green background of the leaf plate.
Photo gallery: breeding varieties of dogwood
- Dogwood Pyramidalis is easy to identify thanks to its unusual shape crown
- Dogwood Nana - one of the smallest hybrids
- Dogwood Variegata - the most common variegated form
- Dogwood Aurea, regardless of the season, looks very decorative
- Dogwood Aurea Variegata appreciated for its unusual appearance
Dogwood white
It grows mainly in the Far East, in China, Japan. The average height of the shrub is up to 3 m, the shoots are thin, nickel. The bark is brick color. Young branches in the sun cast silver-gray. The surface of the sheet is slightly wrinkled. The flowers are white, buds open in early summer and in September, at the same time as fruiting. The berries are milky white, almost round.
Its varieties:
- Elegantissima. Differs in high frost resistance. The shoots are crimson, dark green leaves are streaked with cream strokes, stripes, a blurry border is characteristic;
- Siberica Aurea. The height of the bush is not more than 1.5-2 m, the leaves are pale yellow, the shoots are blood-red, the fruits are white, with a bluish tint;
- Siberica Variegata. Bush up to 2 m high, shoots of coral color. The leaves are dark green with a wide white border. In the fall, the color changes to purple, but the hue of the bordering remains unchanged. The growth rate is not different, rarely bears fruit.
Photo gallery: white dogwood varieties
- Dogwood Elegantissima fully lives up to the name
- Dogwood Siberica Aurea looks unusual during flowering and fruiting
- Dogwood Siberica Variegata is a slowly growing, rarely fruiting, but very decorative hybrid
Dogwood blood red
Shrub about 4 m high, intensively branching. The leaves are ovoid, almost round, in the fall they are painted in all shades of scarlet, crimson, crimson, and purple. The inside is densely pubescent. The flowers are small, greenish-white. The fruits are purple-black.
Breeding Varieties:
- Vertissima (greenest). Bark, leaves and berries of bright green color;
- Variegata. The leaves are dark green with milky white or lettuce spots. Green young shoots gradually change color to purple. The fruits are almost black;
- Mitchii (Mitch). The leaves are dark green with a reddish undertone.
Photo Gallery: Blood-Red Breeding Dogwood Hybrids
- Dogwood Vertissima - the only monochrome variety
- In the cornel of the blood-red Variegata, the crimson shoots contrast effectively with the dark green foliage
- Dogwood Mitchii looks like decoration for Christmas
Flowering dogwood
His homeland is North America. A low tree is distinguished by a very thickened spreading crown. In autumn, the leaves fall off, before changing color from green to purple.
Based on it, breeders have deduced:
- Cherokee Chief. A tree 4-5 m high, flowers of a very unusual scarlet hue;
- Rubra The leaves on one plant are colored in various shades of pink, from pale pastel to crimson.
Photo gallery: flowering dogwood and its varieties
- Flowering dogwood - a low tree with a dense crown
- Like all varieties of flowering dogwood, Cherokee Chief is characterized by abundant flowering
- Dogwood Rubra flowers on one tree can be painted in different shades
Dogwood
Also inhabits North America. Loveable, grows mainly on the banks of rivers. A characteristic feature is the presence of a large number of basal shoots. The height of the bush is up to 2.5 m. The shoots are brick or coral, the flowers are milky white, the berries are cast in blue.
Decorative varieties:
- White Gold. Leaves are bright green, with a wide milky white border;
- Flaviramea. It differs in growth rate, the crown is almost spherical. The yellowish shoots in summer change color to green. In autumn, leaves (but not all) are cast in red;
- Kelsey. The height of the bush is not more than 1 m, diameter - about 1.5 m. The bark is green with a reddish tint. Leaves in the autumn hold on the plant for a very long time, changing color to coral or dark scarlet.
Photo gallery: varieties of dogwood
- Dogwood White Gold - a popular variegated variety
- Cornel Flaviramea grows very quickly, this also applies to adult plants
- Dogwood Kelsey looks very elegant for almost the entire fall
Dogwood Coase
It is found exclusively in nature in Japan and China. The height of the bush is 7-9 m. It is distinguished by decorative flowering. In the fall, the leaves become crimson.
Popular varieties:
- Gold Star. The height of the bush is 5-6 m, the leaf blades are bright green with a yellow spot at the central vein;
- Milky Way. The bush is more than 7 m high, the flowers are large, with snow-white petals.
Photo gallery: Dogwood Coase and his varieties
- Dogwood Coase - a very tall, but still bush
- Dogwood Gold Star in height is slightly smaller than Dogwood Coase, on the basis of which it was bred
- Doggy name Milky Way owes a shade of petals
Other varieties
Among gardeners, not only decorative, but also abundantly fruiting varieties of dogwood are popular. The most common in Russia are those that were bred by domestic breeders:
- Vavilovets. One of the earliest, berries are harvested in the 15th of August. Fruits weighing 6-8 g, in the form of a pear. The skin is dark scarlet, from afar it seems black. The pulp is blood red; it turns pink closer to the bone.
- Grenadier. Differs in stability and plentiful fruiting. Harvest ripens in early August. Fruits in the form of a cylinder, weighing 5-6 g. The skin is shiny, bright scarlet.
- Eugene. A variety of medium ripening period, the crop is harvested in the last decade of August or early September. Even completely ripe berries do not fall off the bush. Fruits are aligned, in the form of an ellipse, slightly tapering at the peduncle.
- Helena. A variety from the early category, characterized by high frost resistance (up to -35ºС). The fruits are oval, regular shape. The berries do not fall, even completely ripening. The average weight of the fetus is 5 g, the skin is dark scarlet (the black subton characteristic of many other varieties is absent). The pulp is sweet, with a slight acidity. The variety is fruitful (40-45 kg from the bush) and early (the first fruits 3 years after planting).
- Kostya. Late ripening dogwood ripening in late September or October. Berries do not fall off the tree. The average weight of the fruit is 5.5-6 g, the skin is black and red.
- Coral. Depending on the weather in summer, the crop is harvested from the last decade of August to mid-September. The fruits are quite small, weighing 3-4 g, but the taste for dogwood is very atypical - sweet, extremely similar to cherries. Ripe fruits quickly crumble. There is a variety of Coral Mark - fruits weighing 5-6 g, in shape similar to cherry plum.
- Vladimirsky. Ripens in the last decade of August. It has a high yield (50-55 kg from an adult bush) and a large berry size (8-10 g). Even ripening, they do not crumble. Resistant to drought, heat, disease. Fruits are cylindrical, slightly flattened.
- Lukyanovsky. Fruiting occurs at the very end of August. Berries in the form of a bottle, one-dimensional. Average weight 6-7 g. The skin is glossy, very dark scarlet.
- Gentle. The berries ripen in mid-August, annually. Pear-shaped fruits, bright yellow. Ripe berries shine through in the sun, a bone is clearly visible. The pulp is very tender, sweet and aromatic. The weight of the berry is 6-7 g. The average yield is 30-35 kg.
- Glowworm. Fruits of a bottle form, weighing more than 7.5 g. Ripen in early September. The skin is dark scarlet, the flesh is even darker, cherry. The berries are very juicy. 50-60 kg of fruits are removed from an adult bush. The variety is resistant to drought, frost, disease.
- Semen. Variety of late ripening. The creators are positioned as self-fertile, but practice shows that this is not entirely true. Harvested in late September or early October. Cherry peel, pear-shaped mass - 6-7 g. Frost resistance is not too high, up to -20ºС.
- Exotic. A variety of medium ripening. Berries weigh 7-7.5 g, the shape is elongated, bottled. The skin is dark cherry. Ripe fruits do not crumble.
- Alyosha. A variety with high winter hardiness and immunity. Pear-shaped berries, weighing 3-4 g. The skin is thin, sunny yellow. Harvest ripen in the last decade of August.
- Nikolka. Very productive early grade. Fruits are slightly flattened, quickly ripen as they ripen. The taste is pleasant, sweet-sour. The pulp is not too dense, but very juicy. Cherry peel. Productivity - 30-35 kg.
- Elegant. Early variety, has high immunity. Berries ripen in the first decade of August, sometimes even at the end of July. Yields are little affected by weather conditions. The fruits are elongated, symmetrical, bottle-shaped. The skin is almost black, average weight is 4-6 g. Productivity is up to 45 kg. Ripe berries that are not picked up on time "wither" and do not crumble before frosts.
Photo gallery: dogwood varieties popular among Russian gardeners
- Dogwood Vavilovets is easy to identify by the flesh that brightens at the bone
- Dogwood Grenadier is stable and abundant fruiting
- Kizil Evgeniya - one of the most popular varieties of medium ripening
- Kizil Elena due to its high frost resistance can be grown in most of Russia
- Dogwood Kostya matures one of the latest
- The taste of the Coral variety is very atypical for dogwood
- Kizil Vladimirsky is a productive, large-fruited variety resistant to adverse weather factors
- Harvest dogwood Lukyanovsky harvested in late summer
- Dogwood Tender - one of the few yellow-fruited varieties
- Dogwood berries Firefly are very juicy
- Kizil Semyon is considered by the creators to be self-fertile, but practice does not confirm this
- Even completely ripe fruits of dogwood Exotic do not crumble from the bush
- Dogwood Alyosha is appreciated for its good frost resistance and unusual appearance of fruits
- Nikolka's dogwood must be collected on time so that the berries do not have time to crumble
- Dogwood Elegant ripens before all other varieties
Landing procedure and preparation for it
The shrub is unpretentious to the quality of the soil. The only thing he categorically does not tolerate is acidification of the soil. Therefore, dogwood is not planted in lowlands and where groundwater comes closer to the surface of the earth closer than 1.5 m. It will bring the maximum possible yield when planted in a light but nutritious substrate that passes air and water well.
Initially, cornel is a southern plant, it tolerates direct sunlight quite well, but also adapts to the shade. However, the best option for him is light partial shade. If there is not enough light, the palatability of the fruit deteriorates, the yield falls, the decorative pattern of variegated varieties fades, "erases". You can place a shrub on a slope - in nature it often grows that way. It is advisable to choose a place immediately and forever, the plant transplant does not tolerate too well.
Dogwood is a long-liver. This should be taken into account when choosing a place for planting, placing it at least 3-5 m from other fruit trees, shrubs, buildings. When planting several bushes simultaneously for cross-pollination, they are placed a maximum of 5 m from each other.
Selection of seedlings
Two-year-old seedlings take root best. Mandatory presence of 3-6 skeletal shoots. The thickness of the trunk should be about 1.5 cm, the height should be at least 120 cm, the root system should be developed, with several roots 30 cm long. The bark is smooth, without cracks, creases and “sagging”. Presence of flower buds is desirable. They can be distinguished from leaf ones by their larger size and rounded shape.
Landing pit
Dogwood landing pit is prepared approximately 1-1.5 months before the procedure. Its depth should be 75-80 cm, diameter - about 1 m. At the bottom, a drainage layer about 10 cm thick is desirable. The top layer of fertile soil extracted from the pit is mixed with humus (20-30 l), as well as nitrogen, potash, phosphoric fertilizers. You can, for example, take carbamide (50-60 g), potassium sulfate (70-80 g) and simple superphosphate (150-180 g).
If the soil is acidic, in order to bring the acid-base balance to neutral, sieved wood ash, dolomite flour, and fluff lime (200-500 g) are added.
When planting, the root of the dogwood neck needs to be deepened into the soil by 3-4 cm, at the end of the procedure, water the seedling abundantly (25-30 liters of water), mulch the soil in the near-stem circle and cut off the existing shoots, shortening them by about a third.
How the plant propagates
Amateur gardeners for propagation of dogwood use mainly vegetative methods. But you can try to grow a bush from the seed. True, in this case there is no guarantee that the varietal characteristics of the "parent" will be preserved.
Rooting layering
Dogwood shoots are quite thin, nyknut, so bending them to the ground is not difficult. They can be laid in pre-excavated shallow trenches or fixed with wooden studs, pieces of wire. The branch is covered with a layer of humus 5-7 cm thick, leaving only the top on the surface. Throughout the growing season, abundant watering is required. By autumn, 6-8 seedlings should appear. After a year, they are carefully separated from the mother plant and transplanted to a new place.
If you do not cover the whole shoot with earth, but only its middle, you will get only one new bush, but powerful and developed.
Cuttings
As cuttings, only non-lignified tops of shoots cut from absolutely healthy bushes aged 5-6 years and older are used. The length of the cuttings is 12-15 cm, a minimum of two pairs of leaves is required. Cut planting material at an angle of 40-45º. You can do this all summer long.
The resulting cuttings are immediately put into water at room temperature or a solution of any biostimulant (Epin, Kornevin, succinic acid, aloe juice) immediately for 24 hours. Lower leaves, if they are immersed in water, cut off.
Rooted dogwood in moss-sphagnum or in a mixture of peat with coarse river sand, perlite, vermiculite. Cuttings are planted at an angle - this stimulates the development of accessory roots. Then they are covered with bags or cropped bottles (they should not touch the handle), creating a "greenhouse". The optimal conditions for rooting are a temperature of about 25 ° C, a constantly moderately moist substrate, daylight hours of at least 10 hours, and the absence of direct sunlight.
After 2-3 weeks, you can start to remove the "greenhouse". The time without protection is gradually extended from 1-2 to 14-16 hours. After 15-20 days, the shelter can be completely removed.
During the year, cuttings are kept at home, monthly pouring with a solution of nitrogen-containing fertilizer (3-5 g / l). The following autumn, dogwood can be planted in the ground.
Budding
The method requires the gardener to have some experience. In fact, budding is the same vaccination, but in this case, not a whole branch is used, but one growth bud. The stock is "wild" dogwood species. The probability of success of the procedure, if everything is done correctly, is 85-90%. Spend it from mid-summer to early fall.
An X- or T-shaped incision with a depth of not more than 5 mm is made in the rootstock bark with a scalpel or razor blade. The bark is gently bent. A growth bud is cut off from the scion along with a shield of surrounding tissues 2-3 mm thick and 3-4 cm in diameter.
The shield with the kidney is inserted into the notch on the stock, the entire structure is securely fixed, wrapped with adhesive tape, adhesive tape or a special budding tape. The kidney remains open. After about a month, she should "wake up." If this happens, all shoots above the vaccination site are removed.
Growing a bush from seed
Dogwood cultivation in a generative way stretches for a long time. Such bushes bear fruit not earlier than 8-10 years after planting in a permanent place. However, the method is often used to grow wild dogwood seedlings, which will then be used as stock. Practice shows: seeds germinate faster from freshly picked slightly unripe berries.
Seeds extracted from drupes (thoroughly peeled and dried) are kept in wet moss or sawdust at a temperature of 5-6 ° C for a year. This is necessary, otherwise germination will be no more than 30%, and seedlings will have to wait about two years.
Before planting, the seeds are dipped for 3 days in a 2% solution of sulfuric acid or hydrated lime, changing it daily. Then they are planted in any universal soil for seedlings or in a mixture of peat and sand, buried by 3-5 cm. The conditions are similar to those created for rooted cuttings.
Seedlings do not differ in growth rate. In the first year they stretch up to 4-5 cm, in the second - up to 12-15 cm. Such plants can already be transferred to open ground.
Dividing the bush
By dividing the bush, only dogwood bushes older than 10 years are propagated, combining the procedure with a transplant. From one bush you can get 3-4 new plants. If possible, the roots are untangled, where it is impossible, cut with a sharpened sterile knife. The wounds are sprinkled with crushed chalk, sifted with wood ash. Before planting in a new place, dry roots are cut off completely, the remaining ones are shortened by 3-5 cm.
Basal shoots
Dogwood willingly forms a basal shoot. It is enough to separate it from the mother plant and transplant it to a new place. The method is not suitable for grafted bushes, because in this case the shoots form a “wild” stock.
Important Care Nuances
Dogwood, if you give him very little time and effort, will thank the gardener with annual and plentiful harvests. Leaving consists in watering, fertilizing and periodic pruning.
Watering
The root system of cornel is superficial, so it can completely do with natural sediments. But with strong heat and prolonged drought, watering is still needed, especially during fruit ripening. Once a week is enough. The norm for an adult plant is 30-40 liters.
A clear sign that the plant lacks moisture is leaves folded in a tube along the central vein.
Too much watering is almost the only way to ruin the shrub. Dogwood stagnation does not tolerate moisture stagnation.
Water is not poured under the root, but in circular grooves or furrows between the bushes. If you have the technical ability, it is desirable to organize drip irrigation. Sprinkling for dogwood is not a good option. Each time after the procedure, the soil in the near-stem circle is loosened to a depth of 7-10 cm.
To properly prepare for the winter, a plant needs water-charging irrigation. You can refuse it if the autumn is very rainy and cold. 70-80 liters of water are spent on an adult bush. Spend it about 2 weeks after the end of fruiting.
Fertilizer application
Dogwood survives and bears fruit without any fertilizing at all, but the application of fertilizers has a positive effect on productivity and decorativeness. The plant responds with gratitude to both organic and mineral compounds.
- In the spring, for an intense build-up of green mass, dogwood needs nitrogen. In late April, it is watered with a solution of urea, potassium sulfate, ammonium nitrate (15 g per 10 l).
- Once every 2-3 years, simultaneously with spring loosening of the soil, 2-3 buckets of humus or rotted manure are distributed in the near-stem circle.
- For the ripening of fruits, phosphorus and potassium are important. In July and August, dogwood is watered with superphosphate and potassium sulfate diluted in water (20-25 g per 10 l). The natural source of these macroelements is wood ash, an infusion is prepared from it.
Dogwood productivity increases if it is planted in a substrate enriched with calcium. Therefore, every 2-3 years under the bush, it is recommended to sprinkle dolomite flour, slaked lime, powdered egg shells.
Pruning
Dogwood does not need forming pruning. The only exception is landscape design, when an unnatural fantasy configuration is given to the bush. A plant by nature has a crown of regular beautiful shape and is able to maintain it without outside help.
At the same time, do not forget to trim the sanitary. It is carried out annually, in early spring, before the kidneys "wake up". In the process, they get rid of all branches that have frozen out, dried out, broken under the weight of snow. Thin shoots growing down and deep into the crown, weak, twisted, clearly violating the correct configuration are also removed.
For cutting use only sharpened and sanitized scissors, knives, pruners. If the diameter of the cut exceeds 0.5 cm, it is washed with a 2% solution of copper sulfate and covered with garden var.
Every 10-15 years, radical anti-aging pruning is performed, getting rid of all branches aged 10 years and older. If there are too many of them, the procedure can be extended for 2-3 seasons. Dogwood transfers it well, fully recovering as early as next year.
On the grafted dogwood, all the shoots are necessarily removed below the rootstock. Otherwise, the bush again "runs wild."
Video: how to cut dogwood
Typical Diseases and Pests
Dogwood suffers extremely rarely from diseases and pests. This also applies to natural varieties and breeding hybrids. If summer is very cold and rainy, rust may develop.
The disease can be easily identified by the bright saffron-colored fleecy spots appearing on the inside of the leaves. Gradually they become denser, change their color to copper or rust. For prevention, dogwood is sprayed in early spring with a 1% solution of Bordeaux fluid or copper sulphate. Having found the characteristic symptoms, any fungicide is used (Skor, Chorus, Kuprozan, Abiga-Peak). Usually enough 2-3 treatments with an interval of 7-10 days.
Of the pests, dogwood can occasionally affect worms. Colonies of insects on the bush can be mistaken for sprinkled flour. The affected parts of the plant turn yellow, dry and fall, the shoots are deformed, the bush practically stops growing. For prophylaxis, dogwood is dusted once every 12-15 days with sifted wood ash, crushed chalk, colloidal sulfur, and tobacco chips. Having found pests, Mospilan, Confidor-Maxi are used.
Features of dogwood cultivation in different regions of Russia
Due to the large varietal variety of dogwood, this shrub can be grown in many regions of Russia, taking into account the following factors:
- Dogwood fruits ripen for a rather long time, therefore, for the northern regions of Russia, as well as its middle strip, varieties with early ripening should be chosen (Vavilovets, Elena, Elegant).
- The optimal time for planting dogwood in the southern regions is approximately mid-October (2-3 weeks before the onset of frost). In northern areas, the event needs to be organized earlier. In the spring, dogwood is planted very rarely. This is due to the fact that the vegetative period in the plant begins early, in most regions the soil by this time simply does not have time to warm up enough.
- Bushes grown in regions with a subtropical climate do not need special shelter for the winter. The exception is young seedlings under the age of 5 years. It is better for them to mulch the roots by creating a peat or humus layer about 15 cm thick at the base of the bush. In regions with a temperate climate, winter can be quite warm as well as abnormally frosty and not very snowy. To avoid freezing, young bushes are covered with cardboard boxes of suitable size, stuffed with straw, shavings, sawdust. Adult plants bind branches in several pieces and wrap the bush with several layers of any covering material that allows air to pass through. As soon as enough snow falls, heap up a high snowdrift. During the winter it is renovated several times, as the snow settles. For the northern regions, it is worth choosing frost-resistant dogwood varieties (Elena, Svetlyachok, Alyosha).
Gardeners reviews
If you plant a dogwood in central Russia, then the optimum is early spring, if you plant in the south (for example, in the Crimea), then the best time is autumn, when the seedlings manage to take root, heal the damaged root system and grow young suction roots in the spring, and then successfully resist early spring droughts and dry winds. I will add: in the garden plots, digging and refueling holes are necessary for six months - in the spring for autumn planting and in the fall - for spring. In recent years, it has been established that dogwood is quite winter-hardy in the middle zone of Russia; it acclimatized in Moscow and the Moscow Region. I read that dogwood can withstand prolonged frosts - over -30 ° C and is found in landings at the latitude of St. Petersburg. BUT! I know people who grow dogwood in the suburbs, but for some reason they do not bear fruit in them. In the south (for example, in the Kuban and in the Rostov region) dogwood practically does not freeze, but often suffers from summer drought and dry winds.
Evgen//www.forumhouse.ru/threads/13181/
My dogwood is growing well! Cottage 20 km north of Moscow. Brought from the Crimea a small seedling, dug in the mountains. Planted on the west side of the blank fence. That way in 2002. Since then, the bush has grown safely, pushing. Today it is a bush 2 meters high and in diameter. Handsome! But does not bear fruit. I read that you need at least 2 bushes, as self-fertile. I have never seen bloom, so early we do not go to the cottage.
ElenaOK//www.forumhouse.ru/threads/13181/page-4
Dogwood both grows and bears fruit. But he probably needs pollinators. I only grew one bush, it bloomed well, but did not bear much fruit - one or two handfuls of berries. I bought some sort of varietal for him. This varietal constantly froze, and did not grow above snow. And my bush was probably not purebred - the berries are not large, they grew terribly fast in height, I had to cut it at a height of 2.5 m in order to limit it.
Barabash//www.forumhouse.ru/threads/13181/page-4
Well, you can eat normal dogwood varieties, but, in my opinion, this is the only plant that you do not need to care for at all. We are growing, if only for that - neither frosts are terrible, nor heat. True, two buckets of water were poured into a drought lasting two months, so as not to dry out.
Kolya//forum.vinograd.info/showthread.php?t=694
Among the southern fruit plants, dogwood is the most winter-hardy. It successfully bears fruit in the conditions of Donbass with little snow-harsh winters. Dogwood is a cross-pollinating plant. Bisexual flowers. Pollination is mainly carried out by bees. Single instances of dogwood do not bear fruit, for it xenogamous pollination is mandatory, in which the flowers of one plant are pollinated by pollen of another. With self-pollination, the fruits are not tied. To ensure high dogwood yields, it is recommended to place plants of different varieties through a row. All dogwood varieties with the same flowering period are well pollinated. The flowering time of individual varieties coincides, the difference in flowering time is usually 1-3 days. Early flowering, in the conditions of Kiev, falls on the period from the end of March to mid-April, until the leaves bloom at an air temperature of 5-9ºС.Often, flowering occurs with significant temperature fluctuations, but this does not affect fruiting, cornel fruit abundantly and annually.
Sergey Donetsk//forum.vinograd.info/showthread.php?t=694
I have been going to the garden since the end of March every week, and I’m examining the buds already in a magnifying glass, so I wouldn’t miss the dogwood blossoms if I wanted to. The bush grows well, there are no complaints about the growth, even, you can say, decorative, the leaves are pretty. But the fact that self-infertile is no longer pleasing.
IrinaNN//forum.prihoz.ru/viewtopic.php?t=1817
My dogwood grows about eight years, with a bush 2 m high, during this time I underwent two transplants, the ends of annual growths froze a little, it blossoms regularly, but very, very early, there are no bees flying yet, there is no time for the bee to work itself, there are no fruits, respectively, either .
AndreyV//forum.prihoz.ru/viewtopic.php?t=1817
Dogwood is an unpretentious plant with very useful fruits. It is widely used in landscape design. Based on the initially heat-loving culture, breeders have obtained frost-resistant varieties, which allows you to grow dogwood and harvest in most of Russia. Also, its undoubted advantages include high immunity to most diseases typical of horticultural crops and the absence of problems with reproduction.