Can it possibly make it?

This dogwood was just about to be left for dead and cut down, when it occured to me that perhaps its main problem were the vines that were completely encicling its trunk and branches. Otherwise, why would it be sending suckers from the main trunk among the vines.

I don't have pictures of the tree smothered by the vines, because I proceeded to remove them. But you can see the young sprouting branches and the general condition of the tree after cutting some dying and iced-damaged branches.

Am I wasting my time? What could I plant at the base of the tree to keep the vines off?

Thanks!

pic

No reason that shouldn't recover. It'll be a slow wait for a good crown though.

Resin

Can I conclude from your answer that, 1. The ivy theory may be correct, and 2. That the offshoots are a true sign of life left in the plant, rather than a last hooray?

The reason why I'm asking is that I went to a plant nursery today, and I was told that judging by the diameter of the trunk (~6 in.) the tree is old, and dogwoods don't last long.

Thank you!

I don't know that you can say for sure the ivy was the problem--there are a number of other things that can go wrong too so the ivy might have been an innocent bystander.

In answer to your original question about planting something to prevent the ivy from climbing the tree...if you don't want the ivy in the tree, you will have to trim it regularly to prevent it from going where you don't want it to go (or else remove it altogether...but good luck with that!) If you just let the ivy grow, it's going to end up climbing the tree eventually.

I think I will have to strenuously disagree with Resin, and any others that might believe that this tree has much of a fighting chance to "recover". Surprising things happen, but if investment of resources are worth anything...I'd install a new dogwood with vigor and no damage and watch it take its place in the world before I'd spend another iota of time on this stub.

The new young stems show that the plant isn't entirely dead, but I firmly believe that they are an indication of a last hoorah. Dogwoods can live to quite a ripe old age - but not after suffering the kinds of insults that this one obviously has. It is sending new suckering stems in an attempt to recover the crown and leaf surfaces lost to the storm damage you described.

Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida) is notoriously prone to insect infestation and multiple diseases once stressed (like by storm or ice damage). To see only the very large pruning cuts on a stubbed trunk with a few epicormic or adventitious new stems, well, that's a prescription for disappointment as the new growth struggles to provide photosynthetic value for a lot of trunk and root - all the while any pathogen is making inroads into the wounded areas.

Sorry to rain on any planned parade, but that's the difficult truth. I really don't think the Hedera helix was playing any black hat role here, but it wasn't/isn't going to be a helper either.

Thank you. VV kind of reaffirmed my initial gut feeling. I don't think the following will change the answer, but just in case... The tree was looking rather dismal, but it was still sporting some blossoming branches at the top, forming a very sparse canopy with two separate branches in bloom. In between them, there were broken off dead branches and a lot of empty space. The idea is that it wasn't as stumpy looking right before sawing off these branches with some flowers in them.

Let me ask an unrelated question. Taking advantage of some time off, I went ahead and built a flower bed around the trunk, mulched and planted Spirea. Now the issue is what to do with the stump. If it's on its way out, I can cut it, but without removing it, it will destroy the decorative value of the flower bed; if I remove it, I can kill the Spirea, which is looking awesome.

I thought of cutting the stump at some height and placing a weathervane on top, but I wonder if decay will do away with the whole thing sooner than we have time to enjoy it.

Any ideas?

Thank you!

Dead trunks can stand for quite some time. I'd do the decorative route that you are contemplating, and not destroy the new plantings just installed.

Worry more about the ivy playing havoc with your new shrubs...

Thank you, as always!

VV well said - we i saw that eye sore yesterday it was as good as gone and not worth waiting it out.

betulo speria are pretty tough - depending on your manpower if that were in my yard I would move the new plantings and protect them with burlap from the sun and dig it out. if you do not have the manpower or will for that the decorative route is fine or cut it down at ground level and "hide" it with other plantings.

Thanks!

Betulo, that trunk still has some live cells - it's sending out some branches in a last gasp. But it really is a last gasp. BUT . . . if you really liked THAT tree, why not take some cuttings from those live branches??

P.S. - Going the decorative route with the trunk is smart! We took down a sick crabapple (are they ever well?) and I had hubby cut the trunk to about 2' from the ground. I took some bigger branches and placed them around the trunk and cut a free form circle-ish bed around it. Very cool now! The bark sheds and lays around the trunk perimeter, a saucer of water for birds on top of trunk - pretty! Here's a pic . . .

Wow! This is pretty! Thanks for sharing. I'll snap a picture of my little project over here... I went a bit Zen-style with the stump, and ordered a rusty bell, which I hung from the trunk. Since the trunk is at a slant, the bell hovers over the Spirea. We are about to reach enlightment any second now... :-)

Oh, wow - love it! Gardens really are the most zen-like things there are, aren't they?

I found a hollow tupelo log at a city mulch pile about 5 years ago. I cleaned it off and treated it with Thompsons water seal. I treat it once a year and it looks as good now as it did when I brought it home.

I use it for an ornamental piece in my front yard.

Thank you, JC! I have borrowed your tip, and applied Thompson water sealant.

You're welcome.

The first treatment uses quite a bit of product but the next one will go a lot easier.