Revitalizing Cornus

SiliconChip

I have a Cornus "Midwinter Fire" that's about 6 years old. Over the last couple of years the stems have become thin and straggly, and while they are still very colourful once the leaves have dropped it looks untidy compared to when it had strong, straight stems. I wondered if the best option might be to take some hardwood cuttings in the autumn to grow new plants and simply discard the old one in autumn 2023 and plant the new ones once they've developed good roots. Or are there any better alternatives to consider?

twopenny

Cornus should have a long life.
I'm guessing you definitely mean dogwoods.
This looks like a good site
http://gardenseeker.co.uk/pruning/pruning_cornus_dogwoods.htm

Nobbie1967

Presumably you’re cutting them back hard each year to get the colourful stems? You’ll lose nothing by taking some cuttings, so worth doing, but maybe the soil is a bit impoverished around them after years of cutting back. Maybe incorporate some organic matter as a thick mulch around them and give them some fish, blood and bone slow release fertiliser?

RAS

By and large cornus/dogwood grown for stem colour benefit from being cut back hard every spring to generate new colourful growth.

I recall however reading that Midwinter Fire needs to be treated more gently to get the range of colour. Certainly the ones at Harlow Carr do not get cut back as fiercely as the others in nearby beds.

Perhaps, feed well now with slow release fertiliser and some mulch (anything). I'd be tempted to cut back hard next spring, accept that you won't get the full range of colour next year, then prune back to say one third of the stem length the following spring to encourage it to lighten up properly. Unless you see something elsewhere that suggests milder or harsher pruning.

Once re-established, maybe cut back one third of the old stems hard each spring to ensure a range of colour?

SiliconChip

Thanks for the comments. As @RAS has mentioned it does appear that Midwinter Fire benefits from not being cut back as hard as other Cornus, something I've only found out about recently, so it may well be that my pruning regime has caused the issues I now have. I probably will attempt to propogate new plants and with those I'll prune less vigorously, hopefully with the desired results.

Alnat1

Cornus are really easy to get cuttings from. Stick the bits you prune into a bit of spare earth and leave them a few months, most will take.

I trimmed 6 x 30cm twigs to add a bit of colour to a winter planter last Nov, simply stuck them in the pot with the other plants. All were well rooted when I cleared the pot in May. 

[Deleted User]

One of my favourite shrubs !
Yes, hard pruning will get that plant back into health again.

SiliconChip

Catsacor said:

One of my favourite shrubs !
Yes, hard pruning will get that plant back into health again.

I think you may be wrong about that for Midwinter Fire, it does work fine for my other Cornus (with dark purple stems, I've forgotten the name) but it seems to be what's caused the issue with MF, as described previously in the thread.