GARDEN NEWS

What to do with your Amaryllis bulbs after they bloom.

  • Water your amaryllis bulbs and start a regular fertilization  program after they finish blooming. Bulbs need to produce lots of leaves to  produce flowers next year. A ballpark figure is six leaves to make one new flowering stalk.

    • Cornelian Cherry
    Dogwood
    by Ann McCulloh -
    October 2011     

    Early Herald of Spring

      For three weeks in very early spring, Cornelian cherry dogwood displays a  cloud of delicate but dramatic yellow flowers on a small, rounded, spreading  tree. Later in the season, dark green shiny leaves emerge and remain attractive  and blemish-free until fall. The green, olive-like edible fruits turn deep red  in July. The tart fruits are popularly made into preserves in Eastern Europe.
    They are ornamental, too, but birds often strip the tree in a day or two. The  tree is quick-growing, cold-hardy, pollution-tolerant, clean and pest-free. It  needs no pesticides to keep it healthy.


    Cornelian cherry dogwood makes a fine little specimen or street tree if its  lower limbs are pruned up, and an edible hedge if allowed to spread out. It is  adaptable to a range of soils and pHs, but is at its best in a moist,  well-drained soil. Grass will not usually thrive underneath it, so  under-planting with hardy shade-tolerant perennials is ideal. Some appropriate  candidates are wild geranium, hosta, ferns or hardy cyclamen.

    Botanical Name:
    Cornus mas
    Varieties/Cultivars to Look  For:
    ‘Spring Glow’; ‘Golden Glory’ upright form; ‘Elegant’, ‘Pioneer’ and ‘Redstone’ fruit production; ‘Elegantissima’ variegated  leaves.
     Color:  Yellow
     Blooming Period:  March
     Fruits: Red,  edible, July
     Type: Flowering  tree
     Size: 20 feet  tall by 20 feet wide
     Exposure:  Sun/part shade
     When to Plant:  Spring
     How to Plant: Amend soil with compost, space 10 feet from walls or woody plants, mulch 1 to 2  inches
     Soil: Moist,  well-drained, but plant is very adaptable
     Watering: 1 inch  per week during first year establishment period
     When to Prune:  Remove suckers or low limbs in winter
     In Your Landscape:  Best with a dark or evergreen backdrop. Hardy small street tree  if pruned up

    Picture