Dogwood: benefits and harm to the body

How to grow dogwood and how to care for it

Watering
Most dogwood species are drought-resistant and do not like waterlogging. However, in dry summers it is recommended to water the shrub 1-2 times a month, 8 liters per plant. When caring for dogwood while watering, do not allow water to get on the leaves to avoid sunburn.

Loosening

The dogwood root system is located quite close to the surface

Therefore, loosening and other activities related to soil cultivation should be carried out with the greatest care. Otherwise, the root system of the plant may be damaged.

First, the weeds are removed, and then the soil is loosened to a depth of 10–15 cm. Near the trunk, soil cultivation is carried out to a depth of no more than 3–5 cm. The feeding area of ​​one dogwood bush is 4–5 m.

Fertilizer

In spring, complete mineral fertilizer is applied to the dogwood. You can use Kemira station wagon at the rate of 100 - 120 g/m2. A urea solution (20–30 g of substance per 10 liters of water) also gives a good effect.

During the growing season, nitrogen fertilizers are applied to the soil. Before flowering, 60 g of granulated superphosphate and 10–15 g of potassium sulfate are added per 1 m2. At the end of summer - at the beginning of autumn, dogwood is fed with potassium fertilizers. In addition, dogwood responds well to the addition of wood ash. From time to time, humus or compost is added to the soil. As already noted, dogwood prefers alkaline soils. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out liming periodically: add lime, chalk, crushed shells, etc. to the soil.

When growing and caring for dogwood, it is strongly recommended not to fertilize or feed young seedlings during dry periods. To absorb the nutrients contained in fertilizers, the plant needs water. During a drought, the soil is not moist enough, and due to intense evaporation of water, the concentration of salts in it also increases. Young plants still have few suction roots, so even under normal conditions they have difficulty providing the plant with moisture. During drought it becomes even more difficult for them. Fertilizers also increase the salt content in the soil. If you fertilize during a drought, there will be more salts in the soil than in the plant cells. In this case, moisture will stop flowing to the roots. Moreover, “over-salted” soil itself will draw water from the plant. As a result, the bush will wither and die. Therefore, during drought, young dogwood should not be fertilized, but watered.

Can dogwoods be eaten by children?

Dogwood, due to its content of useful substances, has a beneficial effect on the development of the baby.

1. They prevent the development of heart disease, vascular disease and oncology.

2. Berries help the functioning of the digestive system and increase appetite.

3. Dogwood cleanses the body of toxins and harmful substances. This is very important in case of deteriorating environmental conditions and the consumption of food products containing dyes, flavor enhancers and other chemical additives.

However, you should not feast on dogwood berries a lot. Vitamins and nutrients will not be absorbed immediately; the excess will be excreted by the kidneys. In addition, a large number of berries will cause fermentation in the intestines or diarrhea. An excess of vitamin C can provoke nephropathy, which in turn will cause the deposition of kidney stones.

The fruits will have to be given to children only after heat treatment. They should be washed well and scalded with boiling water. A baby under one year old can be treated to 1-2 berries first. Gradually increase the daily dose to 50 g.

The rate of dogwood consumption for a child from 1 to 2 years old is increased to 100 grams. After 2 years and up to 3 years, it is allowed to increase the norm to 150 grams. After 3 years, the baby’s digestive system can cope with 200 gr. In any case, you need to consult a pediatrician.

Dried dogwood

Dogwood planting and care

The unique bright red color of the berries, a pleasant somewhat harsh sourness, a special smell - all this is characteristic of dogwood. Not everyone likes the astringent taste, but connoisseurs of the beneficial properties of dogwood certainly try to plant this tree on their site

To get rich harvests of valuable berries, it is important to plant dogwood seedlings correctly

Dogwood produces a bountiful harvest only in a lighted place where the wind does not blow through it. For better pollination, dogwoods are planted in groups, at least two plants of different shapes at a distance of 3-6 meters between seedlings. Dogwood develops poorly or may even die in an area with stagnant groundwater located closer than two meters to the soil surface. Not suitable for planting dogwood and soil, the clay layer of which is compacted and impenetrable.

The pit for planting dogwood is prepared in advance (about six months in advance). First you need to dig a hole more than 60 cm deep, then compost, topsoil, mineral and organic fertilizers are added to it (5 kg of manure is added per square meter).

The optimal time for planting dogwood is early spring, when the buds have not yet bloomed. In autumn, dogwood is planted in October, about three weeks before the onset of frost. Before planting, the roots of the seedling are soaked in water for 10 hours. To increase survival rate, use manure-soil mash with the addition of 0.001% heteroauxin.

When planting, the roots of the dogwood are straightened and evenly laid out in the hole. The root collar is not buried to a height of 5 cm, since the soil will shrink and the collar will drop to the proper level. The soil around the seedling is compacted with a foot, after which it is watered with 5 buckets of water.

The seedling is stamped to a height of 20-40 cm. In the spring, before sap flow begins, the crown must be cut to the outer buds, maintaining a third of the length of last year's growth. If 10-20 year old dogwood plants slow down their growth, prune them to 2-4 year old branches.

The soil under the dogwood seedling should be loosened in the fall to a depth of 10 cm. This procedure activates the activity of the roots and promotes rapid healing of wounds. During the summer period, the soil in the tree trunk circle is loosened to a depth of 5 cm after each watering or rain.

Mulching will retain moisture in the soil and keep weeds away. When the latter appear, weeding is carried out. In autumn, the trunks are planted to a height of 20 cm.

Fertilizer is applied to holes or furrows in the third year after planting dogwood. During drought, watering must be carried out, since the roots lie shallow and can dry out.

A very interesting and detailed story about the rules of planting, growing and caring for dogwood in the Moscow region.

Pruning dogwood bush with video

Dogwood is best shaped as a bush. In this case, after planting in a permanent place, the seedling is cut at a height of 40 cm from the soil surface. Subsequently, 3-4 branches are formed on the shrub trunk, directed in different directions. These shoots will become the main skeletal branches, which will begin to grow new ones.

Due to the fact that dogwood branches heavily, pruning in the future comes down mainly to thinning the crown, and primarily to removing small branches that have stopped growing. At the same time, remove dry branches and emerging tops. When forming a bush, the central conductor is removed in the second year.

Pruning should be done in early spring, as the dogwood “cries”, like some other plants. In case of decreased fruiting, reduced formation of root shoots, or drying out of branches in early spring, it is necessary to rejuvenate the plant. When pruned onto a stump, the plant produces strong basal shoots up to 2 m high.

The video “Pruning Dogwood” shows how to properly form shrubs:

Varieties of common dogwood photo and description

Here you can see photos and descriptions of dogwood varieties of different ripening periods.

For central Russia, early ripening dogwood varieties are considered the most promising.

Early

Alyosha. A winter-hardy variety of the earliest ripening period, resistant to diseases due to the absence of pathogens. Its oval fruits weigh 3.5–5 g (weight varies depending on weather conditions), bright yellow in color, with thin skin.

Elena. Winter-hardy variety, withstands frosts down to –35 °C, early ripening, resistant to diseases. This dogwood variety has large, sweet berries with thin skin, dark red color, and round-oval shape. Unlike other red-fruited varieties, the fruits of this variety are never black. The berries must be picked on time, because when they are overripe, they crumble.

Nikolka. High-yielding variety of very early ripening, disease-resistant. The berries are slightly flattened, weighing 5.8–6 g, with thin skin, pear-shaped, aromatic with a sweet-sour taste. Their color from the beginning of ripening is dark red, almost black. The berries must be picked on time, otherwise they will fall off.

Elegant. High-yielding low-growing variety of early ripening. When describing this dogwood variety, it is worth noting that it is very resistant to adverse weather conditions and diseases. Table fruits ripen in the first ten days of August, in some years - at the end of July.

Pay attention to the photo - the dogwood tree of this variety has mature cherry-black fruits, bottle-shaped, with a thin neck, of medium size (4.5–5 g):

They have a sweet and sour taste with aroma. Fruits that are not picked in time wither and hang on the tree without falling off until frost.

Variety Bukovinsky - with oval-cylindrical yellow fruits weighing 3.5-4 g. Fruit shedding is insignificant. Productivity and fruit weight fluctuate depending on weather conditions.

The Vyshgorodsky variety is especially valuable for fresh use, because the fruits ripen early, have a sweet and sour taste, and contain a lot of vitamin C (up to 121 mg%).

Look at the photo - the dogwood berries of this variety are dark cherry, the flesh is bright red:

In dry years, the fruits become smaller and require watering and care.

The Grenadier variety is exceptionally beautiful, the fruits are fragrant, tasty, oval-cylindrical in shape with a narrowed neck, red-black already at the beginning of ripening. Used for processing into jams, preserves, marmalade and candied fruits.

Variety Joy - early ripening, dark red, oval-pear-shaped fruits, weighing 5.5 g, slightly acidic, red-pink flesh.

Mid-season

Vladimirsky. High-yielding, winter-hardy, drought-resistant variety of medium ripening, universal use, disease-resistant. Its beautiful and shiny fruits with a sweet and sour taste, large (7.5 g), black and red in color from the very beginning of ripening, hold well on the branches. The shape of the fruits of this dogwood variety is oval-cylindrical, somewhat flattened on both sides.

Gentle. A high-yielding yellow-fruited variety of medium ripening, resistant to diseases. Bears fruit consistently and annually, original pear-shaped fruits for universal use. Medium-sized berries: weight 4.5–5.5 g, length 32–35.5 mm, with a sweet taste. During the period of full ripening, the seed shines through the thin skin.

Firefly. Winter-hardy, drought-resistant variety of medium ripening, resistant to diseases.

As you can see in the photo, this dogwood variety has large ripe berries (average weight 6.5–7.5 g), bottle-shaped, with a thickened neck, red-black, sweet-sour, aromatic:

The variety bears fruit annually, the fruits are universally used, and do not fall off when ripe.

Late

Priorsky. Late ripening variety. Bears dark red pear-shaped fruits weighing up to 5–6 g. The taste is sweet and sour.

Seed variety. Winter-hardy, drought-resistant variety with late ripening and disease resistance. It bears large, aromatic and shiny fruits up to 21 mm long and weighing up to 0.7 g, dark cherry color, sweet and sour taste.

Application

The sweeter fruits of varietal plants are eaten fresh, but mainly dogwood is used to make juice, compote, fruit drink, jam, marshmallow, preserves, and marmalade. Its fruits are quite actively used for the production of alcoholic beverages: wine, liqueur, tinctures and liqueurs. In the places where it grows, dogwood is used as a seasoning for meat dishes.

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Health benefits of dogwood berries

The benefits of dogwood are determined by its high content:

• Sahara
• Fructose
• Organic acids (malic, succinic, nicotinic)
• Essential oil
• Tannins
• Vitamins C and P
• Phytancides
• Microelements

This composition makes the medicinal properties most valuable - dogwood can easily replace rosehip, which strengthens blood vessels and prevents sclerosis.

Has a beneficial effect on:

1. Digestion and the entire gastrointestinal system
2. Used as an antipyretic and anti-inflammatory agent
3. Improve appetite and speed up metabolism
4. Regulate blood pressure
5. Helps with pancreas function
6. Effective for hemorrhoids and dysentery
7. For gout and anemia
8. Safe for diabetics
9. For skin rashes and eczema

The benefits of dogwood for weight loss

The usefulness for women seeking to regain their former shape deserves kind words! Due to its low calorie content and the ability of berries to stimulate the nervous system, dogwood is good to include in the diet in the morning. The fruits will contribute to better digestibility of the rest of the food. The benefits of eating 200 grams daily will not be long in coming.

However, it is worth consulting with your doctor before prescribing such a diet yourself. Because with increased acidity, you can cause significant harm to yourself.

This diet is contraindicated for insomnia and constipation.

Use berries with caution even in old age

Is it possible for pregnant and lactating women

Dogwood is definitely useful during pregnancy! Containing a lot of vitamins and other useful substances, it will successfully replace medications that should not be taken while pregnant. With its help you can lower your temperature, cure colds, improve your blood, and strengthen your immune system.

The same applies to nursing mothers. The only nuance should be the gradual introduction of fruits into the diet in order to observe the condition of the baby - how the appearance of an unfamiliar product will affect him, if the woman has not consumed it before this time.

It is best to use moderately sweet compotes and jelly, and to a lesser extent jam, due to the high sugar content.

Dogwood: beneficial properties

1. The fruits are used as a tonic, strengthening, analgesic and astringent.

2. Their use improves the intestinal microflora, heals the upper layer of the epidermis, and cleanses the body of toxic substances.

3. The fruits have a detrimental effect on dysentery and infectious microbes.

4. Frequent consumption of berries increases appetite, stabilizes metabolism, and increases the amount of hemoglobin. In early spring, berries prevent the development of vitamin deficiency.

5. Dogwood jam helps reduce high fever during colds.

6. It is useful for patients with diabetes to eat 50 grams. berries before meals, this will lower the amount of sugar in the blood. Gradually the number of berries should be increased to 200 grams.

7. Preparations from the fruit are used to stop uterine and gastric bleeding.

8. An infusion of the roots reduces rheumatic pain. It is used for gout, arthritis, fever.

9. An infusion of the seeds eliminates diarrhea.

10. Dogwood preparations neutralize the harmful effects of allergens, carcinogens and toxins.

11. Eastern men believe that eating dogwood fruits before dating a woman increases potency.

Dogwood: medicinal properties

Cotoneaster aronia - benefits of ornamental shrub

Possessing excellent decorative qualities, aronia cotoneaster makes a favorable aesthetic impression. Like other deciduous species of this family, it tolerates seasonal pruning and pruning well. To avoid chaotic growth of young branches, they are shortened 1-2 times during the summer. By doing this, you can turn the plant into a masterpiece of landscape art and give it a certain shape and size.

Cotoneaster becomes especially beautiful when the leaves on its shoots turn different colors and the berries are filled with black ripeness. The closeness of their arrangement to each other creates the feeling that large beads are strung on long flexible threads. In the sun they sparkle and shimmer, and the whole plant is transformed.

In addition to decorative purposes, chokeberry culture performs a number of practical functions.

Ripe berries are dried, ground into powder and used as an additive to flour or starch in the preparation of baked goods, marshmallows, candies and other sweet dishes. Dry ground berries, which are completely tasteless when fresh, acquire a completely unique flavor and give rise to interesting sensations when consuming a product prepared with it.

Whole frozen, fresh and dried fruits are added to tea as a nutrient-rich remedy. In addition, it is suitable for coloring and improving the taste of home-made alcohol-containing products: fruit and berry liqueurs, liqueurs and low alcoholic drinks.

In folk medicine, all parts of the plant are used except the roots. Aronia cotoneaster leaves are rich in vitamin C, flavonoids, and glycoside. They are used together with young shoots. Black fruits contain a high content of ascorbic, phenolcarboxylic and other useful acids.

Buds, young bark, flowers and leaves have good antibacterial properties. Residents of the Far North collect branches with leaves and obtain resin from them, which is used to treat skin diseases.

The berries of cotoneaster aronia have been used for many centuries as an astringent for diarrhea and dysentery. They cope excellently with other infectious lesions, flatulence and intestinal disorders.

This type of cotoneaster can be grown and its fruits consumed to support the immune system and eliminate metabolic disorders. They are of particular value in the treatment of nervous diseases that occur in a particularly acute form.

Since black cotoneaster can grow for 50-60 years, over time its shoots become woody and become hard and durable. Europeans learned to make chibouks, smoking pipes, and light, elegant canes from them. This “wood” is suitable for creating crafts and small accessories.

Growing aronia cotoneaster can be a rewarding experience, since the plant is not only beautiful, but also very useful.

The benefits and harms of dried dogwood for the body

Dried dogwood, in turn, is inferior in beauty to fresh dogwood, but it has a sweeter taste, with a slight sourness, and can retain all its positive aspects throughout the year without spoiling. Here are the benefits of dried dogwood for the human body:

• Dogwood berries have anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties, thanks to which they help cope with colds and strengthen the immune system;
• Normalize metabolism;
• Used for headaches;

For diabetics, it will help normalize blood sugar. Serves as an excellent substitute for sweets that they so want, but cannot.

• Regular use will eliminate joint problems;
• Increases appetite and hemoglobin levels in the blood;
• Used if you want to lose weight, due to the acceleration of the breakdown of fat deposits, it helps to remove unnecessary waste;
• Has a diaphoretic effect;
• Serves as an excellent remedy for diarrhea;
• Improves appetite;
• When used to treat hemorrhoids, bleeding stops, pain is eliminated, and hemorrhoids are reduced;
• It is used to restore metabolism in the body and for the treatment and prevention of anemia.

Harmful properties:

• It is not recommended if a person suffers from constipation, this will only aggravate the situation;
• It is worth refraining from eating berries at night - this can lead to insomnia and overexcitation of processes in the brain;
• Hypertensive patients should not tempt fate and refuse it, as it increases blood pressure;
• A large number of berries can aggravate stomach ulcers.

Contraindications:

• Individual intolerance, which will lead to an allergic reaction;
• With exacerbation of gastritis or ulcers;
• During pregnancy when there is a threat of premature birth.

Useful properties and contraindications:

Botanical description

The branchy shrub common dogwood reaches a height of 3-4 meters, or a tree that sheds its leaves in late autumn - up to 6 meters. The difference in the difference between the Dogwood plant of the Dogwood family is determined by the area of ​​distribution; in forests it is a tree, which is why it differs from the shrub growing in the steppe part.

The dark bark and bright, shiny, green leaves make it extremely decorative. The oval leaves are located opposite each other (opposite) and range in size from 3 to 8 cm.

Charming yellow flowers, collected in umbrella inflorescences, bloom even before the leaves appear. Each inflorescence contains 15-20 flowers. A flower with four stamens and four petals is bisexual.

Flowering pleases the eye for about two weeks and occurs in April, when the temperature does not exceed 10-12 degrees C.

Bright red or burgundy berries of various shapes, from oblong to spherical, and pleasant taste make this fruit very attractive to gardeners, which also contributes to its cultivation everywhere.

Reproduction of varietal dogwood plants

To grow a dogwood bush in a summer cottage that will repeat the maternal varietal qualities, gardeners use various methods.

Planting a seedling

The most effective method of propagating the crop if your neighbors (or you) do not have dogwood bushes on the site. Two-year-old seedlings are planted in prepared holes at a distance of 5x5 meters from each other.

Reproduction by layering

A popular method if you have a mother bush. The process is performed in the spring. The lower shoot of the bush is laid and strengthened with brackets in a shallow groove, sprinkled with earth and watered regularly. In the spring of next year, the cuttings are separated from the bush and used as seedlings.

Green cuttings

Cuttings for propagation with 4-5 buds are cut at the end of July from annual shoots of adult (5-6 years old) dogwood bushes. Immediately planted in partial shade, in fertile soil at an angle. Sprinkle the planting with clean sand, a layer of 10 cm, and cover with polyethylene. Polyethylene should be 20 cm higher than the top. The ground should be watered regularly. The grown sprout with roots is used as a seedling. In dacha conditions, this method is ineffective.

Dividing the bush

Propagated by young bushes, small in size. In early spring or autumn, the bush is dug up, the roots are freed from the ground, and old, diseased, dried shoots are removed. Then the bush is divided into parts. Each part should have developed, healthy roots and several full-fledged shoots. The parts are planted in holes as seedlings and watered regularly until the bush takes root.

Growing from seed

Some gardeners are trying to grow a varietal plant from a seed. Reproduction of dogwood using seeds is a long and labor-intensive process. The result is a shrub that does not replicate the varietal properties of the mother bush. A method is used for growing wild dogwood. It is effective to graft a varietal plant onto it. Breeders use this method to obtain new varieties of crops. Dogwood is a wonderful shrub with medicinal properties and tasty fruits. By planting a crop on the site, summer residents will not only be able to enjoy the beauty and fruits of the plant themselves. The long-lived dogwood tree, growing for more than 100 years, will serve several generations of the family.

Useful properties of dried dogwood

Dried dogwood contains a huge amount of vitamin C. This is practically a record holder for the content of this vitamin, even compared to rowan and lemon.

In addition to vitamin C, many beneficial substances in the berry give the following beneficial properties:

1. Expectorant.
2. Diuretic.
3. Sweatshop.
4. Strengthens the immune system.
5. Choleretic.
6. General strengthening.
7. Tonic.

Thanks to these berries, when consumed regularly, the body is cleansed, sugar levels are reduced, and colds are alleviated.

Dried fruits from these berries perfectly help the intestines digest harmful, spicy, smoked foods. When consuming dried fruit compotes, the following is observed:

• increased appetite;
• toning the body;
• strengthening the immune system;
• removing toxins from the body.

The use of the product helps greatly with pain in the back and knee joints, as well as with frequent dizziness and tinnitus.

What are the benefits of dried dogwood for a woman?

Dried dogwood fruits are great for helping women increase their libido. Therefore, women who have problems with sexual desire or attraction to the opposite sex should regularly consume dried and dried dogwood.

In addition, dried berries have antispasmodic properties. This is important for those representatives of the fair sex who experience pronounced pain during menstruation.

In addition, dried fruits help remove toxins from the body, cleanse the intestines of toxins and strengthen the immune system.

When consuming decoctions of dried berries, the amount of specific female secretions is reduced.

Is it possible to eat dogwood during pregnancy?

Iron deficiency is a very big problem for pregnant women. If hemoglobin is low throughout pregnancy, then the child has a high risk of developing anemia.

In addition, dried fruits can reduce toxicosis and normalize the amount of potassium. With regular use, heartburn, which often plagues pregnant women in the last months of pregnancy, is significantly reduced.

All the general strengthening properties of the berry are also useful for pregnant women, as they will help prevent infectious and viral diseases that can adversely affect the child.

Beneficial properties of dried dogwood for men

If representatives of the stronger sex eat a dried product every day, it will be easier for them to restore the body after physical exertion. Eating berries also helps mitigate the effects of constant stress. All this strengthens the body and as a result the man becomes stronger and stronger, which has a positive effect on sexual performance.

Since the berries have a diuretic effect, they are very useful for the male genitourinary system. With regular use, a man can avoid inflammatory processes in the genitourinary tract, cystitis, and prostatitis.

Diseases and pests of dogwood

In some years, real outbreaks of mass reproduction of insect pests are observed. This is due to two factors. Firstly, a combination of the most favorable weather conditions for this type. Secondly, a decrease in the number of predatory insects - natural enemies of pests.

Rust

A fungal disease that causes yellowish and rusty brown spots to appear on leaves. Over time, the affected tissues die.

Control measures:

1. Removal and destruction of the affected parts of the plant.

2. Spraying with 1% Bordeaux mixture (100 g of substance per 10 liters of water) or other fungicides. The plants are treated for the first time when signs of rust appear. This usually happens in mid-summer. Subsequent spraying is carried out at intervals of 15–20 days. The last time to treat dogwood for this disease is no later than 20 days before harvest.

Chervets

A sucking insect, transparent white, pinkish or greenish in color. The body is oval, covered with a white cottony coating. There are bristles along the edges of the body.

Female scale insects are wingless, but very mobile and fertile. During the year, 2 or more generations of scale insects are born. Eggs are not afraid of water. The insect lives in the axils of leaves, on the root collar and roots, and on young shoots.

The affected plant's development slows down, leaves and buds fall off, and shoots become bent.

Control measures:

1. Regular inspection of plants, timely removal and destruction of dried parts.

2. When a pest appears, the plant is sprayed with soapy water. 3 – 4 times a month, spray with tobacco solution, garlic infusion or green soap solution (15 g of soap per 1 liter of water).

3. In case of severe damage, spray with insecticides.

Dogwood in medicine

Fruits, leaves and branches are used in folk medicine for various health problems:

• gallbladder and bladder diseases
• lower back pain
• gout
• skin diseases
• rheumatism
• headache
• metabolic disease
• haemorrhoids
• excess weight
• diabetes
• diarrhea
• swelling of the legs
• high blood pressure
• varicose veins

Infusion of dogwood leaves

Pour 3 tablespoons of dried leaves with 2 cups of boiling water. Leave to brew for 3 hours. Strain the infusion and store in a dark, dry place. Drink 1 teaspoon of infusion 3 times a day before meals for problems with the stomach and liver, as a diuretic and choleretic agent.

Harm and contraindications

It is undeniable that the benefits of dogwood for the body are great, but there are exceptions to every rule.

Who is not recommended, or even prohibited, from using it:

• In case of allergic reactions to the product
• With increased acidity
• For constipation
• For insomnia

A few recommendations for making jam. 1. The least amount of sugar is required to make jam: for 1 kg of berries – 300 g. granulated sugar and one glass of water. First, the berries are boiled for 10 minutes, then ground through a sieve. Sugar is added to the resulting seedless mass. After half an hour of slow simmering, the jam is ready.

2. Making five-minute jam requires a different proportion. For 1 kg of berries take 800 g. sugar and a glass of water.

3. Classic jam requires even more sugar. For 1 kg of fruit – 1200 g. sugar and two glasses of water. Cook in several stages.

From all of the above, the healing properties of dogwood become obvious.

It is worth considering the regular use of such a gift of nature. Residents of southern Russia have known about its benefits since childhood; in northern latitudes, it is not yet such a common food product, but in recent years it has been winning the love of gardeners. It decorates summer cottages, adds useful variety to the diet and has a healing effect in the event of ailments.

You will learn about what dogwood looks like, how to plant these shrubs and how to care for them by reading this material.

The use of dogwood in folk medicine

Adherents of natural methods of treatment will prefer healthy dogwood drinks.

Infusions and decoctions

You can make your own dogwood tincture using vodka.

The berries are washed and mashed with a rolling pin, the resulting puree is placed in a jar. Next, the berries are poured with vodka and mixed. The mixture is covered with a lid and sent to a dry place. It should be insisted for 21 days.

Afterwards, the tincture is filtered through double gauze. Next, sugar is added to taste, the composition is mixed and again sent to “quarantine” for a week. The finished tincture can be stored for up to 5 years. It is applicable in the treatment of skin pathologies and the elimination of lower back pain.

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Dogwood decoction

A spoonful of dried fruits is poured with boiling water (1 cup) and kept on low heat for 120 seconds. The broth is infused for 3 hours, after which it is carefully filtered. In order to strengthen the immune system, drink 50 grams of the drink before meals.

Compote

Place 400 g of dogwood into a clean jar and fill it with water up to the neck. Pour the contents of the jar into a dry saucepan, add 0.5 kg of sugar. Boil the resulting mixture over low heat for 5 minutes. Sterilize the jar. Pour the hot compote into the prepared vessel and roll it up with a machine. Leave the jar in a warm place until it cools, then put it in the cellar or basement.

Reproduction methods

Dogwood can be propagated by seeds and vegetatively. The first option is used much less frequently. This is due to the fact that the seeds take a long time to germinate and the seedlings obtained from them require mandatory grafting, and this is difficult for an inexperienced gardener to do. The second option involves the use of layering and cuttings. It is used much more often.

Read, pear-shaped dogwood: benefits and harms, agricultural cultivation techniques.

From the seed (seeds)

This type of propagation is associated with a number of difficulties, but sometimes this is the only way to obtain a high-quality varietal unit. The dogwood seed is very dense, and the seed has several dormant stages. In this regard, planting material planted in autumn produces the first shoots only in the 3rd–4th spring. But by using the stratification method, partially altered natural conditions, you can speed up this process and get seedlings already 1.5 years after planting.

A similar manipulation is performed as follows:

1. Select well-ripened fruits and remove the pulp. The bones are washed and dried.
2. Place the planting material in a thick linen bag and bury it in the soil to a depth of 20 cm.
3. Until the onset of frost, this place is watered abundantly every 2-3 days.
4. When the snow melts, watering begins again.
5. After a year has passed from the moment of burial, the bag is removed from the soil.
6. The seeds are dried for a week, then immersed in a growth accelerator for 5 hours. You can use “Epin” (2 drops of the substance per 100 ml).
7. The seeds are planted in peat pots to a depth of 10 cm and covered with film. The soil for seedlings is mixed from garden soil, sand and peat (1:1:1).

Video: Reproduction of dogwood from a seed

The plantings are periodically ventilated, removing the cover, and moistened if necessary. After the shoots appear, the film is removed completely. Place the seedlings on a well-lit windowsill. Until 3-4 true leaves appear, water generously with a spray bottle, periodically adding Epin to the water according to the manufacturer’s instructions. After 3-4 leaves appear, transplant into a larger pot. It is best to use peat containers 2 cm larger in diameter. Throughout the year, as the plants grow, they are replanted 3–4 times. After a year, you can plant the seedlings in the ground.

Did you know? Dogwood

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one of the most ancient plants on earth.
The bones of the culture were discovered by scientists in Neolithic settlements. For the winter they are covered completely with agrofibre. When the seedlings are 2 years old, they are vaccinated in the spring. To do this you will need a cutting from a fruiting plant. It is sharpened on one side in the form of a peg, and a tissue incision is made on the seedling under the active bud, at a height of approximately 10 cm from the soil. A cutting is inserted into this cut, the wound surface is treated with garden varnish and wrapped with a plaster. The winding can be removed when buds begin to appear on the cuttings and the graft vein is completely overgrown. The following spring, the grafted shoot is cut off, leaving a stump up to 5 mm long. Immediately treat it with tobacco dust and cover it with garden varnish.

By layering

This option is quite simple to implement. In the fall, before the foliage begins to fade, the shoot, located as close to the soil as possible, is bent and pinned with metal staples in several places. Then the fixed part of the shoot is covered with soil to a height of 10 cm and, until frost, they take care of it like an adult plant, watering it.

When several sprouts emerge from the ground, the shoot must be separated from the mother plant and dug up. The resulting branch with several sprouts is divided into equal parts (according to the number of sprouts) and planted in pre-prepared places. This method is only suitable for shrub forms.

Cuttings

Dogwood trees can also be grown from cuttings taken in spring or autumn. To do this, when pruning, cut off branches at least 15 cm long with several buds. The cut site is dipped in water with 3 drops of hydrogen peroxide and covered with a cut plastic bottle. Change the water periodically, about once every 3-5 days, and add activated carbon (1 tablet each).

When the roots appear, the planting material is rooted in separate peat pots and grown throughout the year, irrigated and fertilized with growth accelerators. Planting on the site is carried out in spring or autumn (depending on when the planting material was cut) every other year. Dogwood can grow in almost any climate. Its life cycle is at least 200 years, and its fruits have a bright taste and a lot of useful properties, which makes it very promising in industrial and private cultivation.