Those Fewer, But Dazzling Dogwoods

Flowering dogwoods (Cornus florida) are beautiful trees and have something to offer almost all year long, from spring blooms to fall color change, to fruit possibly through winter and usually an attractive branch structure.

Yet, the native flowering dogwoods are being dogged by dogwood anthracnose from the fungus Discula destructiva (Nice, huh?) and many have or are dying a slow death.

The kousa dogwood (Cornus kousa) is a gorgeous dogwood and although it appears to flower, the beauty is actually the white bracts huddling beneath and around the insignificant flowers. This species is much less susceptible to pest and disease. Other alternatives, less prone to anthracnose, are hybrid combinations of kousa and flowering dogwoods.

So, if you long for the look of dogwoods, get on down to your local nursery, but make certain you are getting a non-native dogwood or a hybrid less prone to disease.

Also, please consider placement in regard to getting too much or too little sun (may not bloom) and be prepared to give your new friend some additional water (not from your lawn sprinklers) during the extremely hot days of summer.

This group of dogwoods is on a customer's property and there are probably another nine or so scattered about.

The proud owner is Mike the Mater Master and I'll tell you more as soon as he gets off his secret to growing about 400 tomatoes on 10 plants, and sends me a photo or two.

We were here to clean out some of the bed and prune back some azaleas. I did some lower pruning on the dogwoods and now they are simply dazzling and a little happier. And, they aren't even in bloom.

You go, dogwoods!