Dogwood still in leaf with a foot of snow on the ground?

[thistlebloom]

We have a youngish dogwood (florida- Cherokee Brave) in the lawn area. It has it's own 4x4 bed so it's not in the grass, and it's been in the ground 2 full seasons. It's about 6'tall now. It sulked the first year it was in, leafing out late and with small leaves( no blooms at all , thanks to a moose who pruned ALL the bud tips for me).

That first year I finally gave it a foliar feeding of kelp weekly for about 3 weeks and it woke up and did an amazing turnaround.

This spring it was the same thing, tiny leaves, slow to start growing etc. I had a "duh" moment when I remembered how the kelp had helped last year, so I treated it again, and once again, it came back well. Well, it was doing so good and feeling so frisky that when all the other trees were hardening off, going dormant, and generally preparing for winter, it was still going great guns. Even after a -20 night it looked pretty good. I went out the other day to take the wet snow off it and it has closed off the leaves so they are falling( still greenish).

My question is this , do you think, since it didn't going to sleep when it should have that it will be winter killed?

 

[digitS']

I don't know the answer to your question, Thistlebloom.

. . . just wanted to say:

Welcome to TEG !!

Steve

 

[thistlebloom]

Thanks Steve, I guess we're kind of neighbors.I live between CDA and Sandpoint. In the "snow belt". When we first moved here and people would say "oh, your'e in the snowbelt.." And I thought how dumb is that? Isn't all NI the "snowbelt"? This is our 9th winter and now I know, we do indeed live in the snowbelt!

 

[digitS']

Yep, you do!

I used to live and garden off the Bunco Road, on what is now called Cedar Mountain Road. I came across this photograph not long ago and shared it here:

Do you live anywhere close to there ?

(My brother lives north of Sandpoint.)

For over 15 years, I've had gardens in multiple locations on both sides of the border and have said that Hauser Lake is just about the center of things. Dad, in Idaho, has moved - so I no longer have a garden in his backyard. My largest garden has been in East Farms during all this time.

Steve

 

[thistlebloom]

That's a glorious picture! And yes we live about 5 miles east of Bunco. Some years ago we met some nice people who live on Cedar Mt. Road, at least I think that was it, they built a log home as a B&B. I got a bunch of shasta daisies from them. Our son (the oldest) lives in Sandpoint and works at Schweitzer. It's nice to meet you!Since you're a long-timer I'm sure you'll have answers to my short season queries!
:tools

 

[digitS']

We need someone else to jump in and talk about that dogwood!!!

Gosh, I used to get frustrated out there on the Bunco! It isn't so much the cold of your zone 4 winters . . .

I figured that I had 90 days frost-free almost for-sure. But, there wasn't many more than that!

I had Polar Vee sweet corn and Sub Artic tomatoes . . . Sometimes, I had lots and lots of winter squash . . . and sometimes not. Plenty of green beans but I'd sometimes mess up and lose my potato crop.

You have lots more depth to the bench now with more varieties to chose from. That should really, really help a lot.

Steve

 

[thistlebloom]

Yeah, this year was not a good one for tomatoes and potatoes, the only things I planted. Last year I had a killer garden, everything did well, tons of ripe tomatoes, my potatoes were bountiful, I supplied the neighborhood with sugar snaps and beans,and on and on.. This spring was so cold and even in July a lot of our nights were in the 40's so I guess I'm kind of glad I didn't plant a big garden.
Every year I try a little something different with my tomatoes, to see if I can't get a harvest a bit earlier. This year I picked 2 vine ripened ones! I finally yanked 'em in Sept. right before we had an18* night. That was frustrating because they were loaded with fruit but it was so immature , the green ones I brought in just rotted before they ripened. If I was only going to plant two things it should have been peas and lettuce.That's what makes gardening an adventure I guess!

 

[thistlebloom]

Oops! I actually live WEST of Bunco... just mildly directionally challenged...

 

[digitS']

Ah, you are on the other side of the valley - yeah, real snow belt ! I lived there off the Bunco at about 2,500 feet. It isn't all that high but, it certainly far enuf up the valley to have a lot of cloudy days. And, close to the mountains so that cool air would drop down for really chilly nights even during mid-Summer. The frosts would linger in the Spring and then come early.

I don't suppose that Sub Arctic is a baaad tomato . I now grow Bloody Butcher and it is very early and quite tasty. BB is an heirloom and had to be around when I was growing Sub Arctic but I don't know where I would have found it . . . 35 years ago.

I don't suppose that Polar Vee is a baaad sweet corn . In fact, I've continued to grow very early maturing varieties along with some that are a little later. Fleet and Sugar Snow have been regulars in my garden in recent years. I point out to the neighbors that I have some taller and more robust sweet corn over there but that these little, puny plants are going to give me ripe ears 2 or 3 weeks before those do!

Really, in recent years, even tho' I am farther down the valley with a much longer growing season -- cool season veggies have played a bigger part in my garden. I mean, they were there on the Bunco but I seemed to be struggling with the warm-season crops and not really appreciating, like, your Sugar Snap peas and lettuce.

These days, I grow snap, snow, and shell peas every year ! There are lots of varieties of lettuce out there. You know, we also have that dry, hot Summer weather - and not uncommonly, drought! So, some effort has to be made to time the planting well and locate the plants where the long hours of sunshine don't burn up the lettuce, for example.

Over the last 20 years, I have been in the process of discovering Asian greens. There's a whole 'nuther World out there !

Some of those greens really require protected growing. I grow Chinese cabbage in a plastic tunnel. I mean, this is NOT southern China. But still, those greens are often quick and cold hardy. The Asian mustard I grow seems to grow better in cold Autumn weather than kale, I learned this year.

I wouldn't be surprised if there is some out there right now, perfectly edible, under all that snow!

Steve