Dogwoods are one of my favorite trees, and certainly my favorite of the understory trees. Every spring I’m almost surprised to see how many there are in the woods on the mountain. They aren’t nearly as noticeable after they bloom, and they’re almost invisible after the hardwoods leaf out.
I love to walk down Fouche Gap Road when the dogwoods are in bloom. To me, the white cloud-like puffs of blooms in the distance mean winter is really over.
We have several natives on our property, plus several we have planted or transplanted. This native dogwood has bloomed profusely in the past, but in the last few years it hasn’t done so much. This year is a pretty good year, although I expected even more. It’s visible from our kitchen.
We planted a white dogwood and a pink dogwood at the same time shortly after we moved in. Contrary to my expectations, the pink dogwood has done much better than the white one. This year it produced a decent bloom, but it still looks kind of sparse from a distance. It’s right at the end of our driveway.
Up close, the blooms are very nice.
There are several volunteers not far from the big white dogwood. If they all survive long enough, that part of the property is going to be a pretty sight in the spring.
I have absolutely no dogwoods on my property. I’ve even tried to plant them and they’ve all died. I suppose I don’t have that proper fungus in the soil they need. It’s funny how you have so many shortleaf pines and dogwoods, and I’m struggling to have any.
Agree totally – dogwoods are among my favorite trees as well. They’re a great understory component in our piedmont forests, along with redbuds that flower a few weeks earlier (I’ve been keeping track). The extensive rain Sun/Mon washed all the pollen off the brightening sepals, and on Tuesday and yesterday the dogwoods were luminescent.
I’d say that in the fall when the berries ripen and turn red they can be pretty spectacular too. The birds think so, anyway.
Pablo — It is funny. I would be happy to send some of our pines and dogwoods your way.
Wayne — There are some redbuds on the mountain, but few enough that they really stand out. We don’t have any on our property. I’m also hoping for a good crop of berries this year.
I’ve been seeing the native redbud in bloom here, but not sure about the dogwood. I’m pretty sure there is a native dogwood, Cornus nuttolli, but I don’t know if that’s what is blooming out and about in the woods. Sure do love these signs of spring.
No sign of dogwood blooms here in the northern Piedmont yet, Mark. Even if we hadn’t had a protracted winter, it’s still too early for them. Many of the dogwoods in the deep, dark woodlands here have succumbed to dogwood anthracnose–a (possibly non-native) fungal disease that takes down dogwoods living in shadier, more humid conditions. Those trees growing out in the open with more sun seem to be doing just fine, but it’s disheartening to see a forest with no understory dogwoods.
We had some planted pink dogwoods on the property, but they have declined and died over the years. The pink dogwoods don’t excite me the way that the white ones do–maybe I’m too much of a purist. And don’t get me started on the ornamental koosa dogwoods…
Robin Andrea — Dogwoods are a really nice sign of spring. I love them.
Scott — I heard about the dogwood fungal disease more than 15 years ago I think. There were dire warnings (mainly from the news media) that dogwoods would disappear all over the south, but I haven’t seen any signs of it around here, in trees in the understory or in trees out in the open. I’m certainly glad we have escaped it to this point.
I tend to agree about pink versus white dogwoods. Leah wanted a pink dogwood, so we put one in. As I said, I have been a little surprised by how vigorous it has been.