DOGWOOD • Cornus 



White-flowering. Cflorida. Progress has been made 

 in utilizing our native trees. In "Trees of America," 

 published 1855, an eminent Belgian collector said to an 

 American traveler, after speaking of the difficulty he 

 had in obtaining our native plants and trees: "And so, 

 in a country of Azaleas, Kalmias, Rhododendrons, Cypri- 

 pediums. Magnolias, and Nyssas, the loveliest flowers, 

 shrubs and trees of. temperate climates, you never put 

 them in your gardens, but send over the water, every 

 year, for thousands of dollars' worth of English Larches 

 and Dutch Hyacinths. ^Voilale gout rSpuhlicainV (Behold 

 the taste of republicans!)" The Dogwood is now exten- 

 sively planted. In early May, before the leaves appear, 

 it illuminates the woodland with white blossoms, floating 

 like butterflies through the darker parts of the forests, or 

 on the edges massed in horizontal strata, white as snow or 

 tinged with pink. In September its brilliant red berries 

 feed the robins on their south-bound journey. A week or 

 two later the f oHage turns with the first Sumach and Wood- 

 bine. It is a tree without an enemy or a critic. In land- 

 scape planting it is properly used as a small specimen 

 tree, mass-planting with shrubs, undergrowth and bound- 

 ary to tall Pines, Hemlocks and Oaks. It is one of the easiest 

 wild trees to transplant and can easily be dug up in the 

 forest, for the roots are just below the surface, and it is 

 sure to grow if the top is cut back. We have advised 

 many people to collect their own Dogwoods, and it is 

 very discouraging to see many of them fail because they 

 neglect pruning. The best trees to collect, of course, are 

 those growing in the open, usually in abandoned fields, 

 where they are springing up with Locust, Cedars and Oaks. 



Red-flowering. C. florida, var. rubra. The flowers are 

 just as freely borne as the white form, but are of a bright 

 pink or red color. A most satisfactory way to use this 

 tree is in connection with the white, when the contrast, 

 one with the other, will enhance the beauty of each. 



Japanese, C. Kousa. This is a tree that harmonizes 

 completely with the flowering Dogwood and extends the 

 season of bloom about one month. It blooms after the 



DOGWOOD, continued 



foliage comes out to afford it a background. The se- 

 pals are long and tapering and not blunt like the flow- 

 ering Dogwood. Instead of a cluster of red berries, it 

 has a globular berry about % of an inch in diameter 

 filled with edible yellow pulp. This tree appeals strongly 

 to those who desire something "fdifferent," and will add 

 a most charming variety to the planting. 



Japanese Dogwood, (Cornus Kousa). This has been grafted 

 on a stem of the Cornus florida. Anyone can graft them in 

 the spring or bud them in August along the borders of their 

 woodland, and add a pleasant surprise. 



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