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Cornus Midwinter Fire

CollareddoveCollareddove Posts: 173
in Plants
I am about to cut back my Cornus Midwinter Fire to within a couple of inches  of ground level; the shrub is about 3 years old and hasn't been cut back before as the plant took quite a while to establish.   I have found a number of little suckers growing a metre or more from the parent plant.  These suckers are deep rooted and I cannot dig them out without breaking them off.  I don't want a thicket of this cornus, so would be grateful for any advice on how to get rid of the suckers.
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  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    • IMHO that's not how to prune Midwinter Fire. I'd remove some stems to the ground and leave others unpruned.  Remove about 1/3 each year. 

    Devon.
  • wrighttwrightt Posts: 234
    just cut out the older thicker stems but leave any new ones
  • CollareddoveCollareddove Posts: 173
    Thank you @Hostafan1 and @wrightt, that is how I usually prune my other cornuses (Westonbirt), but Midwinter Fire has got quite old before pruning and has grown weirdly at the top of the stems, (rather like a woody dandelion clock) so I want to start with a clean slate.  And what can I do about the suckers?  My other cornuses do not sucker.
  • PlantmindedPlantminded Posts: 3,580
    edited February 2023
    There’s an RHS video about pruning Cornus Midwinter Fire  on YouTube which is worth a look. I’d try to remove the suckers as deeply as you can by clearing the earth around them and using secateurs, loppers, a pruning saw or sharp digging spade, if you don’t have space to let them grow.
    Wirral. Sandy, free draining soil.


  • Silver surferSilver surfer Posts: 4,719
    It suckers a lot...formed a big patch...luckily I had plenty of room for it.
    Mine hated being pruned...it sulked badly.
    Perthshire. SCOTLAND .
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    Collareddove said:
    Thank you @Hostafan1 and @wrightt, that is how I usually prune my other cornuses (Westonbirt), 
    Westonbirt is a variety of Cornus Alba, and you're right to prune them hard every spring.
    M F is a variety of Cornus Sanguinea, and they have a different pruning requirement.
    Devon.
  • CollareddoveCollareddove Posts: 173
    I have looked at the RHS video @Plantminded and @Hostafan1 and they recommend cutting all branches back to two buds.
  • PlantmindedPlantminded Posts: 3,580
    edited February 2023
    Yes, there appears to be a difference of opinion in the RHS advice as well as advice given elsewhere like the GW site, like many gardening matters!  I'd follow @Hostafan1's advice to remove a third of the stems and see how your plant fares this year.  I think @Silversurfer's experience also supports this.  Mine failed after I pruned it severely but I thought that might be because the plant was still quite young and not well established. Best to err on the side of caution!  
    Wirral. Sandy, free draining soil.


  • CollareddoveCollareddove Posts: 173
    Had I known it was going to sucker so prolifically i would not have planted it amongst other shrubs where it is now making a takeover bid.  Even if I dig the parent plant up to replant elsewhere, which I am minded to do, I shall have a lot of suckers still growing and expanding the original shrub's reach.
  • nutcutletnutcutlet Posts: 27,445
    Mine grew to a small tree, with a few suckers, but was always dying back a bit in summer and eventually wasn't worth the garden space. At the beginning of 2021 I cut the tree part right back to base and it's done very well, especially after last summer. I won't be doing that again unless it starts the dying back behaviour again



    In the sticks near Peterborough
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