Sunday, November 11, 2012

Constellation Dogwood Tree



Flowering Dogwood Tree
Cornus x rutgersensis 'Constellation'
(KOR-nus)
Synonyms: Rutcan


Sorry for the sporadic updates on this blog. My new job has become one of disaster relief for the gardens at the new estate. There have been a lot of tough calls on what to save and what not too. Of all the plants on the place the mature White Pines and the Lacebark Elms bore the brunt of nature's fury the most. The main tree allee of Elms was almost totally ruined but plans to replant are already being made. The big, heavy, wet snow was almost more devastating then the hurricane. The snow seemed to affect more plants than the winds did. Also of note was the havoc wreaked on the mature Holly collection. The really big Hollies made it ok but the smaller ones had a lot of damage.

Today's Flower is a special dogwood tree. It was developed by Dr. Elwin Orton of Rutgers University as a cross between our native Dogwood (Cornus florida) and the Oriental Dogwood (C. kousa). It combines to of my favorite trees. We got a couple of specimens at the old estate very early after their release (1988) and they have turned into handsome small trees. They grow great foliage but didn't seem to start blooming for a long time. I am not sure if this is indicative of the species or just the conditions mine were located in. They lack the fruit of Cornus kousa and bloom slightly later.


Norway Maple
Acer platanoides 'Princeton Gold'
(AY-ser) (pla-tan-OY-dees)

Kind of on the same note here is another tree developed in New Jersey. It is really a bright accent in the garden and should be used with care.

1 comment:

DeniseinVA said...

Good luck to you on that much needed work. The sight of your photos takes us into a much more peaceful world. They are gorgeous and I always enjoy reading them. Have a great week!