Evening star., 1941-11-01
Enjoy Fall
BeautyOt
Dogwood
Reddish Fruits Give
Autunnal Splendor
To Loved Tree
Bv NieiS J. Hansen

Why consider the dogwood, Cornus
florida, at this time of the year? 1t
blooms in the spring, doesn't it? Yes,
1t does, with little. yellow, incon-
spicuous flowers surrounded by four
large, white bracts which provide
the breath-taking beauty OF the
Towering dogWood.
But at this time of the year it is
still a fine subject to look at and
to enjoy. For almost two months the
scarlet fruits in punches of four to
five have given pleasure to people
whose eyes and mind are trained to
see and appreciate small things. And
for the last two weeks or so the same
fruits have provided food for in
Vulnerable birds on their way south
from northern latitudes.
The foliage of the dogwood, at
tractive all summer long, finishes
the season in blaze of color before
returning to the earth. Just now
along the edge of woodlands where
the sun can reach them the dog
wood leaves furnish a large part
of the colorful landscape which all
of us can enjoy on long or short
drives through the countryside.
Many home owners have had
foresight enough to plant a dog
wood or two on their grounds. And
many more could do so to good ad-
vantage, for it is one of the plants
which can bear repetition without
becoming obtrusive.
There is a double form of the
dogwood, but whether it ever be-
comes popular is matter OF con-
lecture; only time can tell. But
there is no question about the popu-
larity of another variety, the one
with the bracts tinted pink. In
Its native habitat. the woods from
Massachusetts to Florida and west
to Texas, many gradations from a
faint blush to a rather deep pink
can be found. Selections of the
best k-howered trees have been
made and nurserymen propagate
them by budding and grating on
seedlings cf the white form.
The white dogwood is fine by itself,
30 is the pink one; but planted
together they are infinitely better.
A pair of white accompanied by
a pink, when in bloom, make
picture difficult to forget.
Almost any place in the garden
will do for this tree. 1t grows we'll
IN any kind of soil and under rather
trying conditions, though in dense
shade Towering is apt to be scant.
A sunny spot on the lawn is the
best place for it; in such place
the crown of the small tree grows
dense and the display of flowers is
superb.
1t is possible to go out in the
woods, dig up tree and plant it
at home; but it should be remem-
bered that some one owns the woods.
1t may be an individual or cor
poration, a State or the Federal
Government who owns it, ownership
Is vested somewhere. In any case
1t may be safest to get permission
before starting to dig.
The roots lie close to the surface
and have wide spread; be sure to
get as many of the roots as pos
sible rather than the few that can
be contained in q small ball of soil.
Select a young tree, for old dog
woods take several years to recover
after transplanting. A nursery
grown plant will generally give bet
ter satisfaction than a collected one
and, in the end, it is apt to cost less.
Transplanting may be done any
time from fall till spring whenever
the weather is favorable. The newly
set plant appreciates a mulch of
decayed leaves or peat as do the
established ones, but ordinarily no
other feeding is necessary nor even
desirable as it may cause the tree
to make rank growth at the expense
of flowers.
Seeds offer a way of inexpensive
propagation; these are sown out
doors in fall and some of them
germinate the following spring while
the rest lie dormant one more year.
The young plants grow rather slowly
the first year and seedlings do not
rs a rule flower until they are sew
eral years old.