# question about silky dogwood



## sadworld (Aug 4, 2003)

since these plants are long and stick like; no branches, wondered if i should group them together when planting. as in stick several in the same hole. or plant them individually? i've got 3-4 footers. do these things ever branch out? thanks. matt.


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## bishs (Aug 30, 2000)

I have planted thousands of bareroot silky dogwoods over the last 11 years.  

Plant them alone, they will send up many more shoots creating a shrub. I like to plant them an inch or so deeper than they were planted. The extra depth puts the roots a bit deeper and helps them get the much needed moisture late in the summer. They are a hardy shrub, but will get a lot of browsing attention from deer and rabbits. I plant mine in the spring, and usually by fall they are clipped to the ground by rabbits. They bounce back the next summer. They will soon send up more shoots than the rabbits can keep up with. 

If you have a lot of deer, your shrubs will suffer. Many can't even grow these because of deer browsing. I live in farm country with a low deer density. The deer do not bother browsing my dogwood in the winter. They tend to really go after the leaves the next spring. This browsing seems to stunt the shrub somewhat. I have caged these shrubs with good results and have good luck using Deer-Off. As they get older some of their lower branches will lay on the ground, if the soil is moist they will root in the ground forming thickets.

When a rabbit clips a twig it leaves a perfectly clean 45 degree cut. Deer leave a jagged edge.

Its getting very late to try planting these now. Your seedlings will suffer from lack of moisture with July upon us. You may consider putting them in a garden this year and watering them. They will grow so much faster. You can plant them in a year or two. They are harder to plant but will do you wonders if you have a lot of deer.


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