Flowering Dogwood trees can be easily grown from seed,
however 99.9999% of the seedlings that sprout will be Cornus
Florida, which is White Flowering Dogwood. It doesn't matter
if you collect the seeds from a White Dogwood or a Pink
Dogwood, the seedlings are likely to be white.
The only predictable way to grow a Pink Dogwood, Red
Dogwood, or one of the beautiful Dogwoods with variegated
leaves, is to bud or graft the desired variety onto a White
Dogwood seedling.
Dogwood trees begin producing seeds right after the
petals drop from the flowers. It's a slow process that takes
all summer. By late summer the seeds begin to turn red, which
means they are just about mature. Don't pick them too early or
the embryo will not be fully developed and they will not be
viable. When the seeds are fully developed they will begin to
fall from the tree, and at that time you can begin to pick
them. Ripe seeds can be removed easily. If they don't pop
right off when you grab them, they are not quite ready, give
them another week or two. Don't let them fall to the ground,
the chipmunks, birds and other critters love them, and usually
eat them as fast as they fall.
Once picked, let them sit for a week or so, until the
pulp begins to soften. At that time soak them in a pail of
water to further soften the pulp. While still in the pail of
water squeeze the seeds between your fingers to separate the
seeds from the pulp. Once they are separated slowly add water
to the pail until it over flows, allowing the water to flow
over the edge of the pail slowly. The viable seeds should sink
to the bottom of the pail, while the pulp should float to the
top. Allow the pulp to float out of the pail until you have
nothing but clean seeds laying on the bottom of the pail.
Drain the water and spread the seeds out on a table to
dry. Once dry the seeds can be stored in a cool dry place.
They will keep this way for some time. Because Dogwood seeds
have a very hard outer coating on the seed, they need to be
pretreated or stratified before they will germinate. This
process softens the outer coating so that water and oxygen can
enter, initiating the germination process. There are several
ways to stratify Dogwood seeds, from treating them with acid to
storing them in the refrigerator. I will share a couple of
techniques that I think will work the best for someone with
little experience.
One technique requires that you decide what day next
spring you would like to plant the seeds and then counting
backwards on your calendar for 210 days to start the
stratification process. Here in the north May 15 is a good
target date for planting because by then we should be safe from
frost. You don't want Mother Nature to do them in before they
even have a chance. 210 days from May 15 would put you around
Oct. 15 to start the stratification process.
To stratify the seeds using this technique simply place
them in a plastic bag with some moist (not wet!) peat moss, or
a mixture of moist peat and sand. Poke some holes in the bag,
you don't want it air tight. Store them in this mixture at
room temperature for a period of 105 days. After 105 days move
them to your refrigerator for another 105 days. Don't put them
way in the back where they might freeze. You want them cool,
but not frozen. After 105 days of storage in the refrigerator
they should be ready to plant outside. Just time it so that
you get them outside just after the danger of frost has past.
While the seeds are being stored check them weekly, if
you have fungus growing in the bag sprinkle a little fungicide
in. Near the end of the storage period you should be checking
for germination, as soon as 10% of the seeds have germinated
they should be planted out. If it's too early, plant them in a
flat indoors, just make sure they get plenty of sunlight.
To plant them simply sprinkle the entire contents of
the bag on top of the soil and spread it out. Sprinkle some
light soil over top. Do not plant the seeds too deep. ¼" of
soil over top is all you want. Water them thoroughly after
planting, then allow the soil to dry out before watering
again. Make sure you plant them in an area that drains well,
you don't want them in soggy soil or they will rot. That's one
technique.
Another technique is to nick each seed in a couple of
different places with a knife right after the seeds are
cleaned, and plant them out immediately in the fall. Cover the
seed bed with a piece of screen so the critters don't dig them
up and eat them. An alternative to nicking them with a knife
is to throw them in a kitchen blender and let the blender beat
them up a little. Just a minute or so in the blender should do
the trick.
Which technique works better? I don't know. There are
so many variables that can change the out come that I have not
seen where one works better than the other. I suggest you do
some each way and see what works best for you. I like getting
them planted right away in the fall and putting Mother Nature
in charge, but it's disappointing if something happens and you
have a poor stand, that's why it's always nice to try some both
ways.
You can also grow Chinese Dogwood (Cornus Kousa) from
seed. Chinese Dogwood is very popular because it flowers much
later than most other ornamentals. Late June is usually when
they are in bloom, and the flowers are cream colored against
dark green foliage. It makes the flowers look mint green in
color.
Just use the same techniques as above.
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About The Author
If you have questions for Mike McGroarty visit his website,
http://www.freeplants.com and post them on the message board
where you can learn lots of gardening tips and communicate with
other gardeners. While at his website you can learn how to
start your own profitable backyard nursery. If you would like
a copy of Mike's booklet, "The Secret of Growing Landscape
Plants from Scratch", send .00 to: Garden Secrets, P.O. Box
338, Perry, Ohio 44081
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