Garden Muses: A Small Toronto Gardening Services Company Blog: Chinese dogwood

Chinese dogwood: why you need to plant it

Looking for a medium sized deciduous tree that offers interest throughout the seasons? Look no further than Kousa (aka Chinese) dogwood! Hardy in zones 5-8, Cornus kousa var. chinensis is not native to North America (originally from China, Japan and Korea) but offers the following ornamental characteristics:

a) White/cream coloured bracts that can cover the tree. It's a wonderful sight to see a Kousa dogwood laden with these white bracts in May-June. Here's my tree covered with bracts in spring:

Cornus kousa (Chinese dogwood) bract

Cornus kousa (Chinese dogwood) blooms

Cornus kousa var chinensis (Chinese dogwood) bracts

Chinese dogwood (Cornus kousa var chinensis) bracts

Chinese dogwood (Cornus kousa var chinensis) berries

Flowers often produce these warty and somewhat edible fruits (berries) by autumn. I profiled these soft fruits that have a mealy consistency in a post titled "Maybe you do need a scoop of vanilla ice cream... Fresh Toronto Cornus kousa fruits in the raw!" Likely the squirrels and birds will eat them before you can harvest them.

I tried eating one and, while edible, wasn't an amazing gourmet experience!

Cornus kousa var chinensis
(Chinese dogwood) autumn foliage

Cornus kousa's fall foliage is very ornamental as shown above. Colours range from plums, wines, russets, oranges and golds on the same tree.

Common cultivars we see in Toronto include "Satomi" with pink bracts and "Wolf Eyes" which has wavy variegated leaves. They can be planted as small-medium sized trees, shrubs and standards and can fit into most landscape garden styles.

Cornus kousa prefers full sun (6 hours of direct sun) with ample watering in the first several years after transplanting. My tree takes care of itself more or less, no fertilizing required and is pest free. Just leave it alone to achieve its natural vase shape and don't prune them into meatballs!

Father's Day in the garden: reflections

I always grumble and mumble that Father's Day is given short shrift compared to Mother's Day. Now, before you mothers (mine included) send me a gift of variegated goutweed, this thought disappears quickly when my kids give me their annual recognition of the work and effort I've expended in raising them to be good responsible Canadian citizens: the proverbial hand-crafted Father's Day card made in school.

I do love them! (Kids and cards.)

They are at such a wonderful age (10 and 13), expressing beauty and attitude...which, naturally, brings me to our garden.

Fellow southern Ontario garden blogger, Barry, always talks about his cherished plants as his "kids" and you can really tell how proud a papa he is, detailing their strengths and accomplishments, never their weaknesses and failures (all our kids are special, no?)

I suppose it would be bad parenting to favour one child over the other/s (although my mother never learned about this!) but human nature being what it is, it's tempting and sometimes inevitable. I don't consider the perennials, shrubs and trees in our backyard as "kids" but I do have a strong emotional bond with certain "members" of the family.

(I do understand why it's so very hard for some of my elderly clients to accept my recommendation that it's time to prune their prized Bridal Wreath spiraea. You know, the one that hasn't been touched in over 20 years and is threatening to hide the house?)

Sure, we're anthropomorphisizing (big word) these silly garden plants but as far as erratic human behaviours go, it's normally harmless.

I freely admit that I have some favourites in the garden. Some have been profiled before, like my beloved "Arnold Promise" witch hazel and my "Popcorn" doublefile viburnum.

Let me introduce you to my other favourite garden child (now a teen) showing her (always a her!) beauty.

Say hello to my Chinese Dogwood or Kousa Dogwood (Cornus kousa var. chinensis):

Cornus kousa var. chinensis Chinese dogwood by garden muses: a Toronto gardening blog

My kousa dogwood absolutely loaded with bracts

Cornus kousa var. chinensis Chinese dogwood bracts by garden muses: a Toronto gardening blog

If you have the space for a mid-sized tree, please consider me!

After a few years of growing moderately (but with no/few flowers), the kousa has taken off and giving my neighbours a spectacular show. I'm seeing plain old kousa blooming gloriously right now in nicer gardens over the city, along with pink hybrids like "Satomi" used as standards. C. kousa does get to be a mid-sized tree or multi-stemmed shrub but is pest free with beautiful fall colour and can be loaded with fruit.

Another of my favourite garden children you should consider growing in dappled shade is Acer palmatum "Ukigumo" or Floating Cloud Japanese maple.

You can see, hopefully, why this cultivar is called Floating Cloud.

If I was to plant this specimen again, I would site it in front of a very dark backdrop like painted/stained black fence or maybe a yew hedge to really make the leaves stand out. But this baby ain't moving!

Underneath a big Japanese Tree lilac, my Ukigumo seems to be thriving.

I think dappled shade in a protected zone 5 (better with 6) site is ideal for Ukigumo. Growing it in an exposed site in full sun, with these variegated leaves, likely wouldn't work, unless you're aiming for Acer palmatum "Crispy".