With their stunning spring blooms and pretty reddish-purple fall foliage, dogwood trees are a landscape favorite. But many gardeners wonder if these ornamental beauties will thrive in clay soil.
While dogwoods tolerate clay better than some trees, the dense, compacted soil can lead to drainage problems. By amending the soil and providing proper care, you can help dogwood trees flourish in clay.
Can Dogwoods Grow in Clay Soil?
Dogwood trees are adaptable enough to grow in most soil types, including clay. The high moisture retention of clay soil reduces drought stress. And clay’s nutrients tend to stay in place longer versus sandy soils where they leach out more rapidly.
However, clay also has some characteristics that can challenge dogwoods:
-
Poor drainage – Clay doesn’t drain well after rain and irrigation. Standing water promotes root rot.
-
Compaction – Dense clay is difficult for roots to penetrate and expand through
-
Nutrient deficiencies – Clays often lack adequate nutrients dogwoods need for healthy growth.
So it’s best to amend clay soil at planting to improve drainage while adding organic matter and nutrients,
Amending Clay Soil for Dogwoods
Here are some tips for amending clay soil when planting dogwood trees:
-
Mix in 2-3 inches of compost or other organic material like peat moss or rotted manure. This lightens the soil texture.
-
Consider mixing in sand at up to a 25% ratio to help aerate the soil. But don’t overdo it, as too much sand reduces water retention.
-
You can also use soil sulfur to help break up clay. It lowers pH in alkaline clay soils.
-
Add balanced organic fertilizer with micronutrients lacking in clay, such as iron, manganese, and zinc.
-
Incorporate the amendments into an area 2-3 times wider than the root ball to encourage good root growth.
Picking the Right Planting Site
When selecting where to plant your dogwood, consider these factors:
-
Dogwoods prefer morning sun with afternoon shade, especially in hot climates. Too much sun causes leaf scorch.
-
Allow enough room for the tree to reach its expected mature size without crowding. Space multiple dogwoods at least 20 feet apart.
-
Plant on a slight slope or raised bed for improved drainage if amending the native clay soil isn’t possible.
How to Plant a Dogwood Tree in Clay Soil
Follow these steps for planting dogwoods in clay:
-
Dig a saucer-shaped hole 2-3 times wider than the root ball but no deeper. The roots should sit on firm soil.
-
Score the root ball sides with a knife to encourage outward root growth into the surrounding soil.
-
Backfill the hole with your amended clay soil blend, tamping periodically to remove air pockets.
-
Water thoroughly until the soil is moistened to a 12 inch depth.
-
Add 2-4 inches of mulch around the tree, but avoid piling it against the trunk.
-
Stake the tree for its first year to help it establish.
Ongoing Care of Dogwood Trees in Clay
Proper care is key to avoiding common issues like leaf scorch, spot anthracnose, and powdery mildew:
-
Water young trees weekly during the first two years, soaking the root zone thoroughly. Mature dogwoods need less frequent deep watering.
-
Apply 2-3 inches of pine straw or bark mulch annually to conserve soil moisture and suppress weeds.
-
Fertilize in early spring and fall with a balanced organic fertilizer to provide needed nutrients.
-
Prune only for shape and to remove dead or damaged branches. Avoid heavy pruning.
With some simple soil improvements at planting time and attentive care measures afterward, it’s certainly possible for stunning dogwood trees to thrive in clay soil. The extra effort provides a beautiful focal point for years to come.
Before Getting to How to Plant a Dogwood Tree, Some General Information!
Knowing how to plant a dogwood tree can help the tree have a good start in its growth. There are many varieties of dogwoods, such as Kousa, Cornelian cherry, and flowering dogwood. It’s the state tree of Missouri and Virginia, and its flowers are white, pink, and rose. That’s why we made this seven-step guide on how to plant these beautiful trees. Below you will also find some more information that will help you pick the right location to plant.
- Uses: Because they are big, dogwoods are great for landscaping, especially near power lines, patios, and bigger buildings. Moreover you can use the bark for medicinal purposes. The fruit of the Cornelian cherry dogwood tastes great in jams and isn’t used nearly enough in the United States.
- Size and shape: The flowering dogwood grows to be about 25 feet tall and 25 feet wide, but this can vary from tree to tree.
- Color: These trees are known for their white, pink, and red flowers in the spring. However in the fall, the leaves turn a beautiful red-purple. Birds come to eat the bright red fruits when they are ready.
- Hardiness Zones: 5-9 (flowering dogwood)
- Bloom Period: blooms in April–May.
- Growing: These trees can grow 13–24 inches a year with the right amount of water, mulch, and partial sun (they like dappled shade). Mycorrhizal fungi are good for plants and can be added to the soil to help the roots grow 20 times longer and stop some root diseases.
- What Kind of Soil Does the Dogwood Tree Like? It can grow in acidic, sandy, well-drained, wet, rich, and loamy soils. However it does prefer moist conditions.
- Value to wildlife: The tasty fruit is eaten by many birds and animals, including foxes, squirrels, rabbits, and beavers. Deer and rabbits also browse the foliage and twigs.
How to Plant a Dogwood Tree: Materials Needed
- You will need two sets of hands and someone else to hold the tree straight up when you plant it.
- A bucket or other container to soak the tree roots in water if the tree doesn’t have any roots already there.
- A shovel or spade for digging
- Tree guards for protecting against animal damage
- 1-2 Gallons of Water
- The dogwood tree will either come in a pot or bare root, which means it will not have any soil on it. Do not put the tree in the shade. Instead, take it out of the box it came in and put it somewhere cool (not freezing). g. your garage.
- As soon as you get a bare-root tree that has been shipped for more than four days, put it in water for six to twenty-four hours and plant it right away.
- If you have to wait more than a week to plant the tree because it is bare root, make sure to spray the roots with water every day. The roots will stay healthy and wet if you keep them in wax paper. The trees can stay in a cool, shady basement or garage. Then soak in water for 6-24 hours and plant afterwards.
You should prepare the planting area before planting the tree.
- These plants do well in soils that have a pH of about 5. 5 to 7. Soil that is too wet and doesn’t drain well will hurt them because they like it when the ground is moist and drains well.
- You can test the soil for acidity and drainage before planting. There are easy, cheap ways to do this. Most soils fall in the 6. 0-7. 0 pH range.
- You can add organic matter like compost to your soil to make it more nutritious, but you don’t have to. Or add lime to balance the acidity if needed.
- Till the soil so that the nutrients are mixed in and the soil doesn’t get too packed down. This will help the roots grow well.
- When you plant the tree, you want the top of the root ball to be just above the ground. This will make a small mound around the tree.
- To give the roots of a tree that came in a pot some room to grow, dig a hole that is about twice as wide as the pot. Since you want the top of the root ball to be above ground level, the hole should be about a quarter of the way deep as the pot.
- If the tree is bare roots, you need to dig a hole that is twice as wide as the root ball, or the circle of roots. The depth can be about the same as the root ball.
- The tree should be carefully taken out of its pot and put in the middle of the hole if it is in one. When you put it down, make sure the root ball is just above the ground.
- If it’s bare root, make a mound of soil in the hole first. This way, when you put the tree down, the roots will slope down and spread out, leaving the tree above ground. If the roots start to twist, cut them back. This will enable the tree to spread its roots further.
- If you are planting from a pot, just fill in the soil until it is level with the ground.
- Putting the nutrient-rich topsoil you dug out near the roots of a tree that is held vertically and bare root is helpful. After putting half of the soil around the tree, gently press it down with your feet to get rid of any air pockets. Do not put compost or fertilizer in the hole where the roots are; this will hurt the tree. For the roots to stay hidden, put the rest of the soil on top and press down on it many times with your foot. For the tree, there should be a small hill above the ground.
- If the dogwood tree is on a slope or in a place that doesn’t get enough water, build a wall around it. Make a 2-foot raised edge of soil around the tree to keep the water in.
- Put mulch over the top of the soil near the tree to keep the water in the soil. Moreover weeds are less likely to grow. But the mulch shouldn’t touch the tree bark; it should be about 2 feet away.
- As soon as you plant the tree, give it about one to two gallons of water. If the soil goes down, add more soil.
- For the first year, water it once or twice a week with one to two gallons of water. Once the tree is well-established, you should only water it when it is stressed or during a drought.
- Also, make sure the tree gets enough water in the winter to keep it from drying out and dying. This happens when the leaves lose more water than the roots take in.
- Put a tree guard around the trunk as soon as you plant the tree. Rodents and rabbits will eat the bark off of the dogwood tree and kill it, so this keeps them away. The tree guards should let air flow in. The best defense against mice is a mouse guard that wraps around the bark. We didn’t suggest using them in the summer, though, because bugs can live between the mouse guard and the bark.
- Dogwood trees can be hurt by cold weather and strong winds. Planting in a wind tunnel is not a good idea, especially in the winter. Put up hedges or evergreen trees to block the wind.
How to plant your Dogwood tree!
FAQ
Can dogwood trees grow in clay soil?
What is the best place to plant a dogwood tree?
How do you plant trees in heavy clay soil?
What month is best to plant a dogwood tree?