Category Archives: dogwoods

allergy-free gardening, dogwoods, Flowering trees

Dogwoods in the garden

Eastern flowering dogwood growing in Bonny Doon

I?m so excited. The dogwoods are blooming. Earlier this month there was nary a flowering dogwood to be found but now I?m seeing them everywhere. The native dogwoods in the Sierra are slower this year as the snow hasn?t even melted in many places yet but they?ll be blooming before you know it. If every year you vow to add a dogwood to your own garden here are some tips.

Dogwood are a good tree choice for the allergy sufferer as their pollen is not wind borne. Their showy flowers, which are actually bracts, are pollinated by insects. Their pollen is large and heavy, sticking to insects rather than becoming airborne and leading to sneezing, runny noses and watery eyes.

Cornus florida ‘Cherokee Chief’

There are four main species of dogwood trees. From the Himalayas in China comes cornus capitata. Korea is home to cornus kousa. Cornus florida is native to the east coast and the west coast is home to cornus nuttallii or the Western dogwood.

We are all familiar with the Eastern dogwood that?s blooming now. With various shades of pink or white blossoms they are stunning but rain and wind can cut short the flowering season many a year and the root system is prone to disease.

Our native Western dogwood is unfortunately prone to leaf spot fungal diseases when grown out of their range. They are a little temperamental in the garden before they reach the age of 10 years but after that they tolerate seasonal flooding and flower and grow with little care in morning sun or light shade.

The kousa dogwood is a more drought tolerant, disease resistant and a tougher plant all around. Large, showy flowers open after the tree has leafed out and remain for a long time. This makes it good for hybridizing with other varieties.

The Stella series is a mix of a florida on kousa dogwood roots. Vesuvius series is a cross of our native nuttallii with a florida as is Eddie?s White Wonder. There is also a nuttullii-kousa cross called Venus that displays huge flowers and gets its disease resistance from the kousa roots. All these cultivars strive to produce a tree with superior disease resistance and huge, long lasting blooms.

Cornus capitata ‘Mountain Moon’

Deciduous dogwoods don?t like wet feet especially in the winter. That?s how they develop fungal disease. But there?s an evergreen dogwood that can handle moisture all year round. Cornus capitata Mountain Moon is a tough tree that can handle strong winds and isn?t bothered by any pests or diseases. They enjoy lots of organic matter as do all dogwoods. Huge flowers up to 6? wide can last from late spring into early summer. After flowering, the fruits begin to form and grow into red balls about the size of large strawberries. This is the reason is it also known as the Himalayan Strawberry Tree.

Dogwoods attract a variety of wildlife. All sorts of critters use this tree for food and shelter. The giant silk moth and several species of butterflies favor dogwoods as host plants. The spring flowers provide nectar to bees and other pollinating insects. Robin and sparrow are just two of the bird species than build nests on the horizontal branches and many others seek shelter in the leaves. The high calcium, high fat, fleshy red fruits are eaten by 35 species of birds including titmice, juncos and waxwings.

Many people think of dogwoods as an understory tree but this location is often too shady. Grow them in a full or partial sun location that gets afternoon shade after 4:00 PM. Add a couple of extra drip emitters or inline drip tubing to your irrigation system and they?ll be happy.

dogwoods, Flowering trees, plant diseases, planting tips, trees

The Best Dogwoods & How to Grow Them

Alluvial_Terrace_wholesale_nursery
Alluvial Terrace Nursery

There?s nothing like learning about trees from someone who has discovered for themselves what makes a winner and how to grow it. Recently I had the opportunity to tour a small wholesale nursery near Corralitos. Jon Craig has evolved from Silicon engineer to a propagator of plants and trees and he?s all the happier for it. He laughs when he says he has loved plants for a very long time starting with his first job mowing lawns. As a former engineer it?s all about the research and the plants he grows showcase his success.

His very favorite tree is the dogwood. Not just any dogwood but the ones that bloom with the largest flowers for the longest time. There are four main species of dogwood trees. From the Himalayas in China comes cornus capitata, Korea is home to cornus kousa. Cornus florida grows on the east coast and the west coast is home to cornus nuttallii or Western dogwood.

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Jon Craig with cornus capitata ‘Mountain Moon’

We are all familiar with the Eastern dogwood that blooms early in the spring. It?s beautiful but rain and wind can cut short the flowering season many a year and the root system is prone to disease. Our Western dogwood is prone to leaf spot fungal diseases. The Kousa dogwood is a more drought tolerant, disease resistant and a tougher plant all around. Large, showy flowers open after the tree has leafed out and remain for a long time. This makes it good for hybridizing with other varieties.

The Stella series is a mix of a florida on kousa dogwood roots. Vesuvius series is a cross of our native nuttallii with a florida as is Eddie?s White Wonder. There is also a nuttullii-kousa cross called Venus that displays huge flowers and gets its disease resistance from the kousa roots. All these cultivars strive to produce a tree with superior disease resistance and huge, long lasting blooms.

cornus_capitata_Mountain_Moon_closeup
Mountain Moon

Deciduous dogwoods don?t like wet feet especially in the winter. That?s how they develop fungal disease. But there?s an evergreen dogwood that can handle moisture all year round. That tree is Jon Craig?s very favorite. With a name like Mountain Moon you can just picture it blooming high in the Himalayas. Huge flowers up to 6? wide can last from late spring into early summer. After flowering, the fruits begin to form and grow into red balls about the size of large strawberries. This is the reason is it also known as the Himalayan Strawberry Tree. They are edible but bland and tasteless to us. The birds love then though and they remain on the tree while woodpeckers and robins have a feast.

Cornus capitata ‘Mountain Moon’ is a tough tree that can handle strong winds and isn?t bothered by any pests or diseases. They enjoy lots of organic matter as do all dogwoods. Many people think of dogwoods as an understory tree but this location is often too shady. Grow them in a full or partial sun location that gets afternoon shade after 4pm. Add a couple of extra drip emitters or inline drip tubing to your irrigation system and they?re happy.

cercis_Ruby_Falls.1600
Ruby Fall redbud

Besides enjoying the hundreds of blooming dogwoods, I learned about a redbud that is not as fussy as the lovely Forest Pansy. Ruby Falls and Merlot promise to be more reliable in the garden and more heat resistant.

Jon will try his hand growing just about any plant that he thinks others will also enjoy. A fine crop of Alice oakleaf hydrangea grew near a block of Michelia ‘Inspiration’ getting ready to flower and scent the air. The lilacs had finished blooming but the peonies were just starting their show. Jon shared a tip about tree peonies he learned recently from a well-seasoned Japanese gardener. He followed her advice and cut back the tree peony stem in the dormant season forcing it to produce new stems. Voila- they are now loaded with flowers.

peony
peony

Jon grows many other types of dogwood and also Copper beech, magnolia macrophylla, Royal Raindrops crabapple , Sheri?s Cloud nyssa and even a Purple-leaved hazel. I could only fit a couple of 5 gallon cans in my car so a beautiful smoke bush in full bloom and a Black Lace elderberry now call Bonny Doon home. But I have my eye on one of those spectacular Mountain Moon evergreen dogwoods for the back garden.

berries, birds, California Native Plants, dogwoods, Flowering trees, plant diseases

Dogwood in the Santa Cruz Mountains

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dogwood_RoblesEarlier this year the flowering plums were the first trees to welcome the beginning of spring. Then came the flowering cherries, crabapples, pears, redbuds and lilacs. But now the flowering dogwoods take over as the stars of the show. They are blooming everywhere I go. Whole neighborhoods, lined with dogwood trees, are coming to life.? I? know of several beautiful specimens along Hwy 9 that bursts into bloom this time of year covered in snowy white, pink or rosy blossoms. There are many types of dogwoods and every garden has the perfect spot for at least one. What better way to honor Earth Day 2014 than to plant a tree?

When thinking about where to plant your dogwood tree consider what role you want cornus_florida_closeupthe tree to play in your garden. You might place it where it becomes the main focal point especially during the spring flowering season but also where you can enjoy the brilliant fall foliage. Maybe one located at the back of the garden would be nice drawing the eye along a path and the flowering shrubs growing along the edges.

Dogwoods need good drainage. If your garden has heavy clay soil plant your tree in a raised bed. They make excellent understory trees in high filtered shade if the air circulation and drainage are good. With 2-3″ of mulch dogwoods thrive in full sun, too. The fungal disease anthracnose is not usually a problem here in our summer dry area if drainage is good. Hybridizers have successfully crossed the Japanese dogwood, cornus kousa, with the eastern dogwood, cornus florida, to create the wonderful disease resistant Stellar series. Also the native Pacific dogwood, cornus nutalli, has been crossed with the eastern variety to produce Eddie’s White Wonder. Both are good choices.

cornus_florida_closeup2The beautiful flowers of the dogwood are actually bracts, a leaf-like structure surrounding a flower. The colorful bracts of poinsettias, the magenta bracts of bougainvilleas and the bracts of the dogwood are often mistaken for flower petals. No matter what you call them, the blossoms are spectacular.

Dogwoods attract a variety of wildlife. All sorts of critters use this tree for food and shelter. The giant silk moth and several species of butterflies favor dogwoods as host plants. The spring flowers provide nectar to bees and other pollinating insects. Robins and sparrow are just two of the bird species than build nests on the horizontal branches and many others seek shelter in the leaves. The high calcium, high fat, fleshy red fruits are eaten by 35 species of birds including titmice, juncos and waxwings.

The fruit of flowering dogwood is poisonous to humans but the root bark was used by Native Americans as a fever reducer, skin astringent, an anti diarrhea agent and as a pain reliever for headache and backache relief. It was also use to counteract the effects of many poisons and as a general tonic. The flowers were infused to reduce fever and relieve colic and several plant parts were used as medicine for blood diseases like malaria.

Because dogwood leaf litter decomposes more rapidly than most other species it has been planted on abandoned strip mines and used for urban forestry projects. The wood is hard, strong and shock resistant, making it suitable for wood products that need to withstand rough use like tool handles, roller skate wheels, golf club heads and knitting needles and spools.

Dogwoods look so great in our area because we get some winter chill.? Some of cornus_capitata_closeupmy favorite varieties include cornus capitata also known as Evergreen or Himalayan Dogwood. It’s a slow growing tree which will reach 20 ft tall after about 25 years and has large white blossoms.

Other common favorites with rosy flowers are Eastern dogwood, Cherokee Chief and Cherokee Brave. Their leaves turn glowing red in fall with fruit lasting well into winter. There are lots of white blooming varieties also and this tree is the parent of the exceptional hybrid Eddie’s White Wonder and the anthacnose-resistant Stellar Pink.

The Japanese dogwood, cornus kousa, starts blooming several weeks later than the Eastern varieties and continues for 5-6 wks. The flowers open along with the leaves which is different than its relatives. This dense multi-stemmed tree grows to 20 ft tall.? With raspberry-like fruits that persist into winter and leaves that turn yellow or scarlet in autumn it’s a beautiful addition to the garden.

Remember a mature leafy tree produces as much oxygen in a season as 10 people inhale in a year. Trees clean the soil and air of pollutants, act as windbreaks and can muffle noises.