The dogwood should still be in a dormant state when you remove branches.

Jun 27, Annual Pruning Every year, in late winter, you'll want to remove about a third of the old, most faded stems from your Dogwood shrub, cutting them back to the ground.

Also cut out any damaged or dead stems. This method will encourage more new, brightly colored stems to emerge when the plant emerges from dormancy in spring. May 02, Mariah Mickman explains how to prune a Dogwood shrub.

She demonstrates how to reduce the height and rejuvenate the shrub. Suggested tools: loppers, hand prun. There are several ways to cut back a dogwood: Rejuvenating or Hard Pruning Coppicing Pruning Annual Pruning Touch Up Pruning General PruningEstimated Reading Time: 6 mins.