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.

Norway Maple

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

These are some pictures of Norway Maple. I have never noticed the flowers up close and I have to admit they are quite pretty. I wouldn’t recommend this tree for the garden or even planting as a shade tree unless it was an urban area. It is one of the most widely planted street trees in the US and that is because it is so tough and has the ability to withstand many of the conditions urban street trees have to endure.

It was introduced into the United States around 1760 but didn’t gain popularity until the late 1800’s. There are many (90 or so) cultivars available in all different shapes, sizes and colors. I am a little partial to the red leafed ones like 'Crimson King' and also like the variegated cultivar ‘Drummondi’, both of which have been featured on this blog before. The reasons I don’t recommend this tree is that aren’t too many plants that will grow underneath it, although I found that Yellow Archangel (Lamiastrum galeobdolon) does well. I also don’t like the numerous seedlings.


Last night the winner of Oprah’s Big Give was announced. It was the person whose modest garden we take of. It was fun seeing him through the weeks and as far as I am concerned it couldn’t have happened to a nicer person and family. They are wonderful people.

Molly is hanging on she is no better or no worse. She seems to be fighting so we are too. God bless that dog! I guess it is okay to talk about her here as she has thousands of hours of gardening experience from when she accompanied me to work a few days a week (at least) for the last 12 years. We call her the ditch inspector since whenever you dig a ditch she had to go down in it and check it out.


This is a species of Muscari called M. woronowii. I couldn’t find any information on it.

‘Crimson Sentry’ Norway Maple

Norway Maple
Acer platanoides ‘Crimson Sentry’
(AY-ser) (pla-tan-OY-dees)
Synonyms: European Maple

I was going to call this a Dwarf Norway Maple but not sure if that is correct. My definition of a dwarf is a plant that is smaller than its parent or a plant that does not reach the size normally associated with its species. There can be several reasons for dwarfism amongst plants including environmental factors, genetics and grafting. Since ‘Crimson Sentry’ gets to a final height of 30 feet with a spread of 15 feet it is considerably smaller than the normal height a Norway Maple, which is about 45 to 95 feet in height.

I planted two ‘Crimson Sentry’ Maples at the estate about 12 years ago. One of them died several years later from unknown causes and the other has been growing well. This tree is a slow grower (super slow compared to the species) and has been a welcome addition to the garden. For those of us that like red colored foliage it is a good alternative to ‘Crimson King’, which is much larger. One thing I have noticed about ‘Crimson Sentry’ is that it never seems to need pruning and maintains an almost perfect shape naturally. The foliage emerges much redder than ‘Crimson King’ and then gradually fades to the same color during the summer. I would recommend this tree for patio and entrance ways.

There are over 100 cultivars of Norway Maples available to gardeners. I featured one a few weeks ago. I didn’t know that were that many and will have to investigate some more of them.

Here is a photo I took from my bedroom window with a 200mm lens. This is actually the smaller Whitetail buck that has been hanging around our neighborhood. I have only seen the larger one at night but he looks to be a 12 to 14 pointer.

Harlequin Maple

Harlequin Maple
Acer platanoides 'Drummondii'
(AY-ser) (pla-tan-OY-dees)
Synonyms: Drummond’s Norway Maple

This is from a botanical scan I made this summer and I added the black background in Photoshop (CS2). This tree is really very beautiful but you have to watch for the leaves which can sometimes revert to all green. It is sterile so it does not reseed which is a major reason for not planting Norway Maple. Obviously with a name like Norway Maple it is very hardy (USDA Zone3). My particular specimen has been fairly slow growing when compared to the species. It is occasionally struck with a fungus in late summer but I have been spraying it with fungicide in the spring and that seems to stop that. If I miss the spray cycle the leaves sometimes turn brown during the summer. Plant this tree in an area where its 40 foot height and spread won’t be a problem. It can also have visible surface roots and not too many things will grow under it. I have Yellow Archangel (Lamiastrum galeobdolon) growing under mine and they both seem happy (Archangel can be invasive, plant with care) and Pachysandra will usually grow under Norway Maples. If you don’t want to use any of those try a good coat of mulch.


This is some boxed Dutch Amaryllis (Hippeastrum, hip-ee-ASS-trum) I saw at the nursery. They are pretty much a foolproof plant for the holidays and quite showy. I learned something from looking up this plant. They are not true Amaryllis. There is only on plant that belongs to that genus and it is called the Belladonna Lily (Amaryllis belladonna) or Naked Ladies. I will have to do some further research on that.