Hi. We have 3 Pagoda Dogwood. We bought a farm in the country and started planting trees and shrubs because there were none there (it used to be pastureland). That was 7 years ago. We planted 3 Pagoda Dogwood. Because the site is very windy, I think that is the reason they
are slow growing. I have never pruned mine because they keep a nice shape. They're worth the wait though. I love the fall color. The shrubs we bought that are doing the best are Amelanchier Canadensis/Serviceberry. Again it has beautiful fall color. You can also get the Serviceberry in treeform. We did plant some Crabapples but they didn't survive. Marg

My pagoda dogwoods are lovely, but the foliage is not dense enough to provide shade. I think of it more as an understory tree.

There are a number of crabs available, and most can be pruned wider or taller as needed. I would definitely mix varieties rather than planting 3 of one type. Mine is called "Profusion" and the fruit is about the size of cranberries, so we never have a mess to clean up.

I find that the dogwood I have are beautiful. However, they don't take a lot of full sun. They are great in partilally sunny areas though. We have many different types of dogwood behind our place,- no idea what type though as they are considerably older. We find the birds come in and pick off the fruit in a day or so. They miss some, but there are new trees popping up all throughout the bush behind us, thanks to the missed ones, and the "fertilized" ones which the birds spread.

I find that the crabapples are beautiful this time of year. If they produce fruit, they are a dirty tree with a lot of dropping fruit, and then a lot of bees. There are fruitless crabs though which would alleviate the bee problem. Crabs are really liked, however, by the tentworm caterpillar, so one has to be prepared for that.

I think the pagoda is one of the most beautiful trees around (when it's planted as a tree, though, not those bushy multi-stemmed things I've seen at nurseries)but it is, indeed, an under story tree. In the city, mine grow on the east side of the house, getting afternoon shade from both the house and tall trees to the south.

The tiered affect of the branches are incredible.

The flowers in spring are beautiful, and the trees have grown extremely fast - two to three feet a year -- in moist soil in that protected area.

The only problem I have is with squirrels. In my city they are more than bountiful, and they like to feast on both the seeds as they ripen, and the flower buds before they break in early spring. This has resulted in MANY broken branches and chewed off tips. They seem to even like either the bark or the sap under the bark - I've seen them gnaw on a branch.

In my country garden this isn't a problem, but the trees grow much slower because of the dryer conditions.