Cornus florida

Cornus florida

flowering dogwood

 

The Cornus florida originates from the U.S. East coast and can be found in its original habitat from Ontario (Canada) all the way down to southern Florida. Its name, however, does not come from the state of Florida, but from Latin floribunda, which means 'abundant in flowers'. Cornus florida flowers from mid-April to the end of May, all dependent on weather conditions. Flowers appear together with or right before the leaves. The small flowers are concentrated in circular screens of about 2cm in diameter, which are surrounded by four large white bracts. This gives the complete flower a diameter of 5 to 7.5 cm. Halfway through summertime, new flower buds arise and these will be visible all through the winter as large round buds. The regular Cornus florida reproduces by seeding; therefore it may take as much as a few years before it will flower. This also causes the plant to flower very abundant one year and much less the next. This process is also dependent upon the weather conditions in the summer before. If you are in a hurry for flowers, you are better off with one of florida's cultivars. These usually flower at much younger ages and have a higher flower probability. After blooming, the plant produces berries which grow out to approximately 0.5 cm in diameter. These berries turn red in autumn. In The Netherlands these berries are rarely seen. 

 

 

   

applied flower button Cornus florida      Cornus florida (flower)

 

The Cornus florida's leaves are oval shaped and slightly hang. In autumn they turn to spectacular shades of red, purple en yellow before shedding. Because of its flowering in spring and the spectacular autumn colors, the florida is bound to nicely decorate your garden throughout the seasons. In its original habitat, the Cornus florida grows out to a small tree of about 12 meters high. In The Netherlands it will usually not grow higher than about 5 meters. The Cornus florida grows best in the sun or partial shade. It is important to shelter the florida from wind. In windy spots the plant will not grow and the leaves will suffer from brown and black stains. Trimming the florida is strongly discouraged, especially in the case of thicker branches. Large wounds will only slowly heal and offer an entry point to all kinds of fungi, which eventually may kill your Cornus. Cornus florida is completely winterproof.

 

 

Cornus florida