Cornus (florida)
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Gregory Hoss Nursery Manager George O. White State Forest Nursery PO Box 119 Licking, Missouri 65542-0119 573-674-3229 GIF-native-plants@prodigy.net |
| Family Scientific Name: | Cornaceae | ||
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| Family Common Name: | Dogwood Family | ||
| Scientific Name: | Cornus florida L. | ||
| Common Name: | Flowering Dogwood | ||
| Species Code: | CORFLO | ||
| Ecotype: | South Central Missouri | ||
| General Distribution: | Flowering dogwood is found from central Florida northward to southwestern Maine and west through southern Ontario to central Michigan, central Illinois, Missouri, southeastern Kansas, eastern Oklahoma and eastern Texas. It is also is found in the mountains of Nuevo Leon and Veracruz in eastern Mexico. It occurs as an understory species in many eastern deciduous or coniferous forests. Our seed sources are form south central Missouri. | ||
| Propagation Goal: | plants | ||
| Propagation Method: | seed | ||
| ProductType: | Bareroot (field grown) | ||
| Stock Type: | 1+0 | ||
| Time To Grow: | 1 Years | ||
| Target Specifications: | Height: 24 in<br> Caliper:0.25<br> Root System: Root system must balance top growth. | ||
| Propagule Collection: | Seeds are purchased from local people who collect within a 50 mile radius of the nursery. Fruits mature from August to October. | ||
| Propagule Processing: |
Large collections are be cleaned by Dyb-vig, and must be dried thoroughly prior to storage. There are 9,920 seeds per kilogram (4,500 seeds per pound) (Brinkman, Vankus 2004). We store our seeds in sealed plastic bags inside sealed plastic tubs in a cooler at 36 F. |
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| Pre-Planting Treatments: |
Seeds are sown in late September with a Love seeder set at 3rd gear @4. We sow seeds at least .25 inches deep to protect them from deer, rodents and birds. Seeds are covered and irrigated when soils appear to be drying out on warm days. We apply old sawdust and hydromulch after sowing. |
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| Growing Area Preparation/ Annual Practices for Perennial Crops: |
Soils: Our field soils are silty clay loams. The spring before planting, we amend the soils with 700 lbs/acre of 1N:3 P205:5K20, grow a soybean cover crop, and fumigate in the fall. We use Roundup Ready soybeans so we can control weeds by using glycosate herbicide without harming the cover crop. During early August, we disk under the cover crop and disk the soils several times during the next 6 weeks to obtain a smooth soil surface. Soils are fumigated in late September. Field Bed Preparation: We mark out and form beds as needed. Beds are prepared with a rototiller/seedbed former and are typically 4 to 6 inches high and 4 ft wide. Fields are cultivated for weeds as needed throughout the growing season. Irrigation: We use overhead irrigation with two inch pvc pipe that can be moved from field to field each year. Our principle water source is from 3 on-site wells and is very good quality water. |
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| Establishment Phase: | Seeds require frequent irrigation during fall months for good rates of germination. | ||
| Length of Establishment Phase: | 1 month after emergence in the spring | ||
| Active Growth Phase: |
Year 1: Fertilization: We apply ammonium sulfate 21-0-0-24 with a mechanical spreader. We put on the first application the last week of May and to only those 1+0 seedlings that have been germinated for at least 5 or 6 weeks. We put down our last application during the last week of July. We apply fertilizer at the rate of 125 lbs/acre. Flowering dogwood is usually fertilized 7 to 8 times during the growing season. We irrigate for at least 45 minutes following all fertilizer applications. This insures that foliage will not burn and incorporates fertilizer into the root zone. We do not root or top prune flowering dogwood. |
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| Length of Active Growth Phase: | 4-5 months | ||
| Hardening Phase: | Hardening begins during August. No fertilizer is applied after August. Irrigation frequency and duration is shortened and applied only when needed. | ||
| Length of Hardening Phase: | 3 months | ||
| Harvesting, Storage and Shipping: | We lift flowering dogwood just prior to shipment in February. We don't hold flowering dogwood in cooler storage prior to shipment because it does not hold well and we have had high rates of mortality in the past. | ||
| Length of Storage: | 2-3 months | ||
| References: | Brinkman KA, Vankus V. 2004. The genus Cornus. In: Woody Plant Seed Manual (on-line version) URL: http://wpsm.net/Cornus.pdf | ||
Citation:
Hoss, Gregory. 2005. Propagation protocol for production of Bareroot (field grown) Cornus florida L. plants 1+0; George O. White State Forest Nursery Licking, Missouri. In: Native Plant Network. URL: https://NativePlantNetwork.org (accessed 2025/04/20). US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, National Center for Reforestation, Nurseries, and Genetic Resources.
