Are red berries on dogwood trees next year’s flowers

Question

Squirrels are eating the red berries on my dogwood trees. Are they eating next year’s flowers? Also, I purchased two dogwood trees two years ago and they have never bloomed.

Answer 1

No, the red berries are the trees' fruit, formed after the flowers were pollinated. The buds form on new growth in the spring. Since your trees are only 2 years old, that is probably why they haven't flowered yet; many plants need to have a few years on them in order to perform reliably. However, here are a couple of articles that you may find useful: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/trees/dogwood/dogwood-tree-not-flowering.htm
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/trees/dogwood/caring-dogwood-trees.htm