Dogwood Control: How To Get Rid of Dogwood

Dogwood is the common name for a group of about 45 species of small trees and shrubs which grow in the U.S. These plants have been around for generations in the United States and are often grown for their beautiful flowers, bracts, and leaf color during autumn. Many Dogwoods grow to heights of up to 15 feet and are able to spread and reproduce through suckers that grow at the base of the tree.

As nice looking as Dogwood is, a homeowner might be fine with one, not a bunch. Growing a Dogwood tree may result in numerous Dogwood shrubs emerging from the soil and out-competing other plant life, soaking up most of the nutrition and preventing other plants from thriving.

If you have Dogwood on your property and want it gone, our DIY Dogwood treatment guide below will show you, step-by-step, how to eliminate this invasive tree using our professional-grade control products.

Identification

Before you can move forward with a treatment program, you need to properly identify Dogwood by knowing what it looks like. Misidentification of Dogwood can lead to you using the wrong herbicides, which can cost you time and money.

• The identifying characteristics of Dogwood are oval-shaped leaves with apparent veins the run along the edges.
• Dogwood leaves will change colors as the seasons change, transitioning from green to red.
• Dogwood tree bark is scaly and can easily be peeled off of a tree piece by piece.
• Dogwood is also distinguished by its flowers, a four-petaled leaf that is usually white or pink found on the branches of the trees near the leaves.
• Finally, Dogwood is known to bear fruit that resembles red grapes which grow in clusters on the tree branches. Some species are edible while others may be toxic.

Use our description and image above to help you to identify Dogwood on your landscape. If you are having trouble identifying dogwood, contact us and we will properly ID the plant for you and offer recommendations of the best professional products for control.

Inspection

After you have confirmed that the weed you are encountering is Dogwood, you can then move forward with an inspection. During this phase, you will need to locate the areas where Dogwood is growing and what the conditions of the area are. This will help you to determine where to focus your herbicide treatment.

Where to Inspect

Dogwood grows best in moist soils but will grow in drier habitats as well. They like to grow in the shade of larger trees as understory plants. This is important to know so you can do a bit of habitat modification to create a less conducive environment for plant growth.

What To Look For

Analyze the area to see how severe of a Dogwood tree problem you have. In spring, Dogwood can grow between 20 to 30 feet and will be covered with white (or sometimes pink or red) bracts centered with small clusters of yellow or white flowers.

Treatment

Please be sure that when handling any type of herbicide, you are properly protecting your skin and eyes with safety equipment (goggles, gloves and long-sleeved clothing).

The most effective way to kill Dogwood trees is via cut-stem treatment. You will cut the tree down to the stem and then apply a professional herbicide directly to the stem. Our recommendation is Triclopyr 4 as it as shown to be very effective against brush and shrubbery and is labeled for treating dogwood.

Step 1: Cut Down the Dogwood

Using an ax or saw, cut the dogwood tree down to its stem. This will help the Triclopyr herbicide to seep into the Dogwood and kill the plant down to its root.

Step 2: Apply Triclopyr to the Dogwood Stump

Triclopyr 4 is a triclopyr based herbicide and works systemically down to the root of the tree to halt growth.

When spraying a large volume of stumps, mix Triclopyr (preferably with a marking dye) into a sprayer at a rate of 20 to 30 gallons of Triclopyr in enough Methylated Seed Oil to make 100 gallons of spray solution.

For a single tree, use a hand-pump sprayer or backpack sprayer to mix 13 oz. of Triclopyr 4 in 115 oz. of MSO to make a 1-gallon spray solution. Spray the stump completely and evenly making sure it is thoroughly wet, but do not apply to the point of runoff.

This is not a one-time job and you may need to conduct follow-up applications until the plant is completely dead.

Prevention

After you have eliminated Dogwood from your property, you will need to put into place preventative measures to make it so Dogwood or any other invasive tree species doesn't reinvade.

• To prevent Dogwood from regrowing, address soil moisture issues by improving drainage and other routine maintenance tasks to make the environment less conducive to Dogwood tree establishment.
• Mow your yard at an optimum height of 3 to 4 inches to improve root growth.
• Apply fertilizer at the best times (ideally in the fall) for your lawn to keep your desired turf thick and lush so Dogwood or other invasive plants don't have an opportunity to take over.
• Water the grass deeply yet infrequently. We recommend once a week at a rate of 1 to 1.5 inches of water.
• Rake and dethatch your lawn to allow for better aeration of your lawn as well as address issues like soil compaction and poor drainage.

Key Takeaways

What is Dogwood?

• Dogwood trees are smaller trees that are often used as ornamentals but can quickly overtake a land where they are established, creating an eyesore and hindering the progress of other plants it competes with in the same vicinity.

How To Get Rid of Dogwood

• Our top recommendation to treat dogwood is a post-emergent treatment of Triclopyr via first cutting the stem and applying it to the stump.

Preventing Dogwood Reemergence

• Prevent Dogwood regrowth by performing habitat modification (addressing drainage, soil moisture issues) to make the environment less conducive to the invasive tree re-establishing.