April Tree of the Month-Dogwood
This month, we celebrate the official Missouri State tree, the flowering dogwood, Cornus florida and Cornus florida f. rubra. Some of you are saying our state tree is Hawthorn, but that’s the state “flower,” which confuses everyone since, like the dogwood, the Hawthorn is a tree, but no one bothered to show the higher-ups the similarities even though our state motto is “SHOW ME.”
Sigh.
Native dogwoods are usually found along wooded slopes, ravines, bluffs, or upland ridges, and so dogwoods prefer well-drained, acid-based soils and shady locations. Yes, your neighbor has one in full sun, and it’s doing fine, but if you want to make your trees happy, take a clue from Mother Nature and how she plants them.
In St. Louis, a little afternoon shade is appreciated by everyone.
Dogwoods can grow 15-20′ high and wide. The flowers are actually tiny clusters that form on the branch tips. The four showy white bracts surrounding these flowers resemble petals, and most people regard these as ‘flowers’. The bracts give the tree its white (C. florida) or pink (C. florida f. rubra) color and have many symbolic meanings: rebirth, purity, and strength. The symbol for the City of Ladue is the dogwood flower.
The fruits are bright red and berrylike (technically, drupes), with 1 or 2 seeds, and the fall color is excellent with a range of colors.
Where did the name “Dogwood” originate? One theory is that years ago in England, the bark of blood twig dogwood (Cornus sanguinea) was used for bathing mangy dogs. Mobot says “the name is a reference to an old-time use of hard slender stems from this tree for making skewers once known as dags or dogs.”
What I love about this tree- It’s one of our best natives. It comes in numerous shades of pink and white. The fun onion-shaped buds. The excellent fall color. The graceful layering habit.
What I’m not crazy about- Susceptible to dogwood anthracnose, leaf spot, canker, root rot, powdery mildew, and leaf and twig blight. Stressed trees are more susceptible, so keep your tree happy and healthy with proper placement, regular mulching, and watering.
Words and photos by Jo Batzer
© Jo Batzer, garden-lou.com, All rights reserved.
