arctic fire red twig dogwood - super high

[Anonymous]

We planted two arctic fire red twig dogwoods in front of my house this year next to one that had been there since last year. The one that had been there since last year has grown extremely tall - maybe 8-9'. The other two are growing well - maybe around 4-5' now. How and when should I prune these back? I assume that for this year, I should not cut anything in the summer, right? Eventually, I would like all three to be the same size. Is there a way to prune these to avoid them getting to 9' tall next year? (Ideally, I would have gotten a variant that grows to around 4-5' but too late now). Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Late winter/early spring.

[Anonymous]

I always heard these should be cut back hard every spring because it makes the branches grow back brighter and more colorful

[Anonymous]

The new summer growth turns bright red in the fall/winter. Old growth is always brown/green. If you want them to live up to their name you have to prune them hard every year (in March or so).

You can cut these guys way back, to a set of 6” stumps. They’ll spring right back up. If you don’t want the plant to be cut down entirely leaving a bare spot in your boarder cut out half the new growth to 6” and cut these guys way rest back to shoulder height or whatever you like.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Late winter/early spring.

This. ^ Right before the spring growth spurt and bloom.

[Anonymous]

You can cut the part you don't want any time. Seriously hardy plants. I'd just prune the tall ones down to the size you want now and then do the correct pruning in late winter.