UK gardening - identification of cornus kousa.....

Author

identification of cornus kousa.....

Mark N

2007-10-24, 9:25 am

Hello,

I've got a question about identifying a shrub I bought from a garden
centre....I'm pretty sure it's from a dutch breeder (originally)....I
think I've seen other flowering cornus with the same sort of
label....they were cornus florida.

it claimed at the time to be cornus kousa 'milky way'.....I was
passively looking for something like this, so of course I bought
it....wasn't cheap but there we go.

But now I'm wondering if it is indeed what it claims to be......it
hasn't as yet flowered (though it's only been in the ground twelve
months)....it's quite elegant....but is it what it claims to be.

It's almost definately a cornus!.....and it's almost definately a
flowering dogwood.....so it isn't cornus alba or anything like that.

It's currently about 3 foot tall, nice autumn colour..nice shade of
red....very much as cornus kousa would.

But my suspicions are triggered by it's leaf.....it's not completely
green...but has an edging of purpley red.

How can I identify it......not just for academic reasons....but I
don't want to wait 20 years for it to flower....and if it's actually a
cornus florida....it probably wont like my english midland climate/
soil.

helene@urbed.coop

2007-10-24, 9:25 am

On 24 Oct, 11:13, Mark N <Nicholls.M...@mtvne.com> wrote:

> I've got a question about identifying a shrub I bought from a garden
> centre....I'm pretty sure it's from a dutch breeder (originally)....I
> think I've seen other flowering cornus with the same sort of
> label....they were cornus florida.
> it claimed at the time to be cornus kousa 'milky way'.....I was
> passively looking for something like this, so of course I bought
> it....wasn't cheap but there we go.
> But now I'm wondering if it is indeed what it claims to be......it
> hasn't as yet flowered (though it's only been in the ground twelve
> months)....it's quite elegant....but is it what it claims to be.
> It's almost definately a cornus!.....and it's almost definately a
> flowering dogwood.....so it isn't cornus alba or anything like that.
> It's currently about 3 foot tall, nice autumn colour..nice shade of
> red....very much as cornus kousa would.
> But my suspicions are triggered by it's leaf.....it's not completely
> green...but has an edging of purpley red.
> How can I identify it......not just for academic reasons....but I
> don't want to wait 20 years for it to flower....and if it's actually a
> cornus florida....it probably wont like my english midland climate/
> soil.

Hullo. This surrey nurseries has lots - check the website and links,
take a picture of your leaves and send it on an email to the nursery.
I'm sure they'll glady help you. Sounds like you propably have a Pink
Flame one ... perhaps!?! Given it's autumn as well, it's perhaps
difficult to assert the right colour. Was it 'purpley red' all summer
too?

http://www.commercialnursery.co.uk/cornus.html

2007-10-24, 9:25 am

Mark N <Nicholls.Mark@mtvne.com> writes
>
>It's almost definately a cornus!.....and it's almost definately a
>flowering dogwood.....so it isn't cornus alba or anything like that.
>
Cornus alba flowers ;-)

Know what you mean, though - no big showy bracts.

--
Kay

Janet Tweedy

2007-10-24, 9:25 am

A friend bought one some years ago, had to wait 10 years for the bracts
to appear and just as he was about to give up it flowered, measly few in
first year then two years since it has got better and better.
--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

Mark N

2007-10-25, 9:25 am

On 24 Oct, 11:34, hel...@urbed.coop wrote:
> On 24 Oct, 11:13, Mark N <Nicholls.M...@mtvne.com> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Hullo. This surrey nurseries has lots - check the website and links,
> take a picture of your leaves and send it on an email to the nursery.
> I'm sure they'll glady help you. Sounds like you propably have a Pink
> Flame one ... perhaps!?! Given it's autumn as well, it's perhaps
> difficult to assert the right colour. Was it 'purpley red' all summer
> too?
>
> http://www.commercialnursery.co.uk/cornus.html- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

I'll give it a go...thanks.

Mark N

2007-10-25, 9:25 am

On 24 Oct, 13:43, Janet Tweedy <j...@lancedal.demon.co.uk> wrote:
> A friend bought one some years ago, had to wait 10 years for the bracts
> to appear and just as he was about to give up it flowered, measly few in
> first year then two years since it has got better and better.
> --
> Janet Tweedy
> Dalmatian Telegraphhttp://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

I think thats my worry....I think milky way is supposed to flower
young and proliforously....I'd rather not wait 10 years.

Emery Davis

2007-10-25, 5:25 pm

On Thu, 25 Oct 2007 10:52:08 -0000
Mark N <Nicholls.Mark@mtvne.com> wrote:

> On 24 Oct, 13:43, Janet Tweedy <j...@lancedal.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>
> I think thats my worry....I think milky way is supposed to flower
> young and proliforously....I'd rather not wait 10 years.
>

C. kousa may take a while to flower, 'Milky Way' included.

The Esveld page -- as usual, it's a fabulous resource -- has pictures
that feature some leaves. Perhaps it will help:

www.esveld.nl/htmldiaen/c/cokmwa.htm

HTH

-E
--
Emery Davis
You can reply to ibmemeryamazon@ebayadelkadell.applecom
by removing the well known companies
Questions about wine? Visit http://winefaq.hostexcellence.com

galyles@leavethisoutblueyonder.co.uk

2007-10-25, 5:25 pm

On Wed, 24 Oct 2007 03:13:16 -0700, Mark N <Nicholls.Mark@mtvne.com>
wrote:

>Hello,
>
>I've got a question about identifying a shrub I bought from a garden
>centre....I'm pretty sure it's from a dutch breeder (originally)....I
>think I've seen other flowering cornus with the same sort of
>label....they were cornus florida.
>
>it claimed at the time to be cornus kousa 'milky way'.....I was
>passively looking for something like this, so of course I bought
>it....wasn't cheap but there we go.
>
>But now I'm wondering if it is indeed what it claims to be......it
>hasn't as yet flowered (though it's only been in the ground twelve
>months)....it's quite elegant....but is it what it claims to be.
>
>It's almost definately a cornus!.....and it's almost definately a
>flowering dogwood.....so it isn't cornus alba or anything like that.
>
>It's currently about 3 foot tall, nice autumn colour..nice shade of
>red....very much as cornus kousa would.
>
>But my suspicions are triggered by it's leaf.....it's not completely
>green...but has an edging of purpley red.
>
>How can I identify it......not just for academic reasons....but I
>don't want to wait 20 years for it to flower....and if it's actually a
>cornus florida....it probably wont like my english midland climate/
>soil.
>

Another possibility to consider other than cornus florida might be
cornus nuttallii (Pacific Dogwood). I bought one at about 3 ft tall
from a garden centre near Perth (Scotland) - must have been around
10 - 12 years ago although I have lost track of exactly when. However,
in my Dundee garden, it's now reached about 7 - 8ft high. It started
producing white flowers (or "bracts" to be accurate) in increasing
numbers over the last 4 years and these were really quite profuse and
very striking this year so it has obviously reached the degree of
maturity to put on a good show! Although at the time of buying I
didn't know it would take so long to reach this stage, in retrospect
it has been well worth waiting for. At the current time, some of the
leaves are still green, although most are ranging between either green
tinged with red or completely red.

Geoff

echinosum

2007-10-26, 9:25 am

Emery Davis;756304 Wrote:
> A friend bought one some years ago, had to wait 10 years for the bracts
> to appear and just as he was about to give up it flowered, measly few
> in
> first year then two years since it has got better and better.
>
I have a Cornus kousa chinensis, planted about 6 years ago. It only
produced a few odd flowers until this year when it was covered in them.
Later it was covered with large, showy dark red berries, the size of
cherries. The berries are absolutely delicious - you don't eat the
skin, you suck the flesh out from a break in the skin. Very sweet and
tropical tasting. I think it is quickly going to establish itself as
one of the best things in the garden. It is still only shrub-sized.

It's taken my judas tree just as long to get to flowering.

There are many lovely things you have to wait for. Which is more fun
than the endless pruning of instant plants that later need controlling.
When plants have a life of many decades...

--
echinosum

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