Evergreen Dogwood

A wonderful plant that is probably not very well known is the Evergreen Dogwood. Most Dogwoods are deciduous but the Evergreen variety is long flowering and has leaves all year round; a beautiful tree in the garden.

Plant details

Common name: Evergreen Dogwood or Himalayan Dogwood

Botanic name: Cornus capitata

Description: An evergreen tree that is long flowering and grows to about 6-9m (20-30') tall, depending on the soil and rainfall. Flowers are creamy yellow followed by red fruit.

Best climate: Evergreen Dogwood is best suited to the cooler zones of Australia south from Sydney and Perth and in the mountainous zones along the Great Dividing Range.

Best look: A feature tree in the garden, particularly in a cottage garden.

Good points:

• Long flowering with smallish greeny-yellow flowers that mature into a creamy yellow and fade to a faint pink through the cream.
• After flowering, fleshy crimson red strawberry-shaped fruit appear on the tree.
• Evergreen tree with leaves all year round.

Downside:

As it is grown from a seedling will take about six years before flowering. When a young tree the leaves can hang a bit through winter, appearing in trouble but this is its normal growth style.

Care:

fertile, well-drained soil in cool, moist tablelands protect from dry winds water well in summer

Getting started:

The Evergreen Dogwood may be difficult to find at your local nursery so ask them to order it in for you. It costs around $18 for a 20cm (8") pot and $40 for a 25cm (10") pot.

Copyright CTC Productions 2006