Weeping Kousa Dogwood

Weeping Kousa Dogwood
Cornus kousa 'Lustgarten Weeping'
(KOR-nus) (KOO-sa)

This tree is blooming right now, which is just one of its special attributes. It flowers long after the native Dogwoods (Cornus florida) and has the added beauty of having the leaves out and that provides a nice green backdrop for the flowers. It also gets a nice fall color and even has a good winter outline.

There are actually two of these trees at the Estate and they are slightly different and that has always been a bit of a mystery to me but researching this post revealed there is 'Lustgarten Weeping' and ‘Elizabeth Lustgarten’ cultivars of Weeping Kousa Dogwood. I always thought it was a seed source variation. Both specimens are growing in a lot of shade and seem to be taking forever to mature. They need a little pruning and not much maintenance in general.

I am not sure who the interloper is on the first photograph but he is probably up to no good. I am happy that I captured the actual flower of the Dogwood, which is the little green part in the middle. The showy white parts are bracts, which are really modified leaves.


This second picture shows the attractive star shaped flowers as a group. It was shot in monochrome with the Coolpix P6000 compact camera.