Pagoda Dogwood Spring Buds - March 2024

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I planted a small, native dogwood - a Pagoda Dogwood - that I bought at a local plant sale back in October of 2021.   I put it back by the firepit area, in front of the Yew hedge, and left it alone for couple of years.  It was small and I wasn't sure how it was going to grow, so no pruning was done until last Summer (June 2023) when I took back all the lower branches to just a few pairs of leaves.  The goal was to get it to focus a bit more on the taller/higher section and begin to take on a more tree-form shape (vs a shrub with low, wide branching).  

I was out in the garden today taking an inventory and noticed that the Pagoda Dogwood has produced long, thin buds that are beginning to burst.  See below for the current state at the end of March 2024:

Pagoda Dogwood Spring Buds - Foliage

This tree puts out a lovely-looking foliage - here's last Summer's view of the lined, almost-ribbed leaves that emerge out of these buds.

According to the Morton Aboretum, this will eventually get up to 15' tall along with horizontal branching.  

Location: Downers Grove, IL, USA

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