Cornus kousa - Chinese dogwood
June 12, 2011
You do see these trees everywhere now but this year is a spectacular bloom year for my Cornus kousa. Last year it was a bit thin with flowers and I don't know if it was the layer of compost mixed with organic fertilizer spread around the drip line or the difficult summer we had last year which precipitated this year's plethora of blooms.
The creamy white portion of the flower is actually a bract or modified leaf with the flower located in the center. This tree flowers with the large leaf rhododendrons but the flowers last much longer. I hope you are enjoying one of these trees in your garden. What does yours look like this year?
Layanee