Article content
A mere decade or three ago there were only a few flowering dogwoods to be found in Lambton County.
Advertisement 2
Article content
A few decades may seem like a long time, but if we consider Adam and Eve, Noah or whichever human first roamed the earth, a decade is but a blink in time.
It’s a scary thought, but thanks to climate change, flowering dogwoods are gracing the local landscape, something that until recently, could only be done on the West Coast or quite a few miles south of the 49th parallel.
Blaming climate change on the ability to grow flowering dogwoods may not be totally accurate, but you catch the drift. There probably are a few mature flowering dogwoods in Sarnia-Lambton, but they would be few in number, and growing under perfect conditions.
No doubt horticulturists and plant breeders have also played a role in the upswing of flowering dogwoods. These scientists are in a constant quest to create plants with characteristics such as colour, height, hardiness, dwarfness, disease resistance and flowering time.
Article content
Advertisement 3
Article content
Gray dogwood (Cornus racemosa) is a native large growing shrub commonly found in the bush in Southwestern Ontario. Its white flower clusters appear on a haphazardly shaped bush in late spring. Grey dogwood is favoured by many birds who feast on the berries in early fall. Easy to grow in any conditions, grey dogwood is a must for those wishing to promote native landscapes.
Red twig dogwoods are the name given to several dogwood shrubs that are just as adaptable and easy to grow as grey dogwood, but with striking red stems. Flowers are white, often not showy, followed by small berries in mid-summer. All will grow in sun or partial shade, but the brightest red stems will be found on plants grown in full sun.
The lineup of ornamental flowering dogwoods is vast and continuously increasing. All have delightful long-lasting blooms appearing in mid to late spring. Most cultivars bloom in white, opening up wide with four showy petals. Flower petals are not actually petals but are coloured bracts with much smaller and less significant flowers in their centres.
Advertisement 4
Article content
Kousa dogwood (Cornus kousa) is an ornamental plant with four-season interest. It welcomes spring with white blooms. Summer is noteworthy because of its layered horizontal branch pattern on a tidy small tree. Red, raspberry-type fruit is favoured by many birds. Fall foliage colour is bronzy red.
Closely related to kousa is Satomi dogwood, which is similar in all respects but with pinkish red blooms. Both are small growing trees rarely growing more than 15 feet at maturity.
Other highly ornamental flowering dogwoods include Rosy Teacups with long-lasting rosy pink flowers in spring, and Greensleeves which opens greenish white in spring, turning creamy white as flowers develop. For a narrow growing Dogwood that takes up little room, look for Snowtower, growing up to 15 feet tall with width of four to six feet.
https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMigAFodHRwczovL3d3dy5ub3Jmb2xrYW5kdGlsbHNvbmJ1cmduZXdzLmNvbS9uZXdzL2xvY2FsLW5ld3MvZ2FyZGVuLWNsaXBwaW5ncy1mbG93ZXJpbmctZG9nd29vZHMtZm91bmQtbW9yZS1pbi1zb3V0aHdlc3Rlcm4tb250YXJpb9IBrgFodHRwczovL3d3dy5ub3Jmb2xrYW5kdGlsbHNvbmJ1cmduZXdzLmNvbS9uZXdzL2xvY2FsLW5ld3MvZ2FyZGVuLWNsaXBwaW5ncy1mbG93ZXJpbmctZG9nd29vZHMtZm91bmQtbW9yZS1pbi1zb3V0aHdlc3Rlcm4tb250YXJpby93Y20vZDhhN2U0NmYtYzA3Yi00YTViLTk4NjgtYTFkNzg2OTVmMjg1L2FtcC8?oc=5
2023-05-24 20:07:13Z
CBMigAFodHRwczovL3d3dy5ub3Jmb2xrYW5kdGlsbHNvbmJ1cmduZXdzLmNvbS9uZXdzL2xvY2FsLW5ld3MvZ2FyZGVuLWNsaXBwaW5ncy1mbG93ZXJpbmctZG9nd29vZHMtZm91bmQtbW9yZS1pbi1zb3V0aHdlc3Rlcm4tb250YXJpb9IBrgFodHRwczovL3d3dy5ub3Jmb2xrYW5kdGlsbHNvbmJ1cmduZXdzLmNvbS9uZXdzL2xvY2FsLW5ld3MvZ2FyZGVuLWNsaXBwaW5ncy1mbG93ZXJpbmctZG9nd29vZHMtZm91bmQtbW9yZS1pbi1zb3V0aHdlc3Rlcm4tb250YXJpby93Y20vZDhhN2U0NmYtYzA3Yi00YTViLTk4NjgtYTFkNzg2OTVmMjg1L2FtcC8
Comments
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.
Join the Conversation