Thwey do great in B'ham.

Tony

English dogwoods are easy. They should grow in almost any kind of soil. I lived in Montgomery once and had prairie soil and my neighbor grew them there. I grow them in Prattville but I have clay here. Not so sure about "real" dogwoods doing well in Montgomery's prairie soil although they do well over in East Montgomery in the Dalraida area.

Rosemary,

I don't know what an 'English' dogwood is. The familiar Dogwoods that lots of people grow here like acidic soil. Prairie Soil is alkaline. I have prairie soil and I have a dogwood, but it is growing where I had a huge popcorn tree stump ground up, so the soil is very loose with organic matter right now. I also add sulfur and liquid iron every year.

I would suggest that your friend do a soil test and then find out the requirements for English Dogwoods. If they require acidic, well-drained soil, I would suggest he/she amend the soil and plant the tree 'high' or in a raised bed. Planting high will help with drainage.

Rae

English Dogwood = Mock orange = Philadelphus coronarius

Here is a link that might be useful: google

I thought Mock Orange trees were those ugly trees that drop those big bumpy green fruits (about the size of big oranges). They line the Montgomery Country Club on Narrow Lane Road in Montgomery. That's what we've always called those trees. I've never seen them with white flowers.

Rae

Those trees are Maclura pomifera. A common name for which is Osage-orange or Hedge-apple.