Dualing Dogwoods, and more Squirmishes over the Origin of Plants

NATIVE or ASIAN?
In the beginning there was Cornus florida, the lovely dogwood native to the eastern United States.  I was raised to revere this plant - Virginia's state tree and flower - so when I bought my home here in Maryland, I was delighted with the 12 dogwoods that came with it.

Until trouble came to paradise in the form of a nasty fungal disease called anthracnose that's killed half of them - so far.  My tack has been to buy only the disease-resistant and more drought-tolerant Korean dogwoods (Cornus kousa) or hybrids with the natives, and they're all thriving.

Enter the experts.  Recently, during the course of a week, I learned:

• From Gene Sumi, garden education expert at Homestead Gardens, that I'm doing exactly the right thing.  Gene's a big proponent of these alternatives to the more difficult Cornus florida.
• From Washington Gardener magazine, in a nice piece about all kinds of dogwoods, that Cornus kousa has "better resistance to the anthracnose fungus than C. florida and better drought tolerance."  It even has longer-lasting blooms, for crissake.  Oh, and their berries are "much to the delight of birds."
• Then from a naturalist I won't name in a talk to a local environmental group:  Asian dogwoods do NOTHING for wildlife and when she hears nursery people recommending them it makes her "furious!"  And believe me - the exclamation point was there in the original.

Looks like another case of wildlife experts not exactly speaking to gardeners.

NONNATIVE CHERRY TREES A MENACE?
John Peter Thompson of the Behnkes Nursery family wrote to me that he'd noticed a flurry of listserv excitement lately about the "supposed invasiveness" of flowering cherries.

I did an in-depth on-line mini research project and think your readers might like the varietal listings and references, and note that I cannot find substantiated information on the invasiveness of cherries with the exception of reported sighting in the Potomac Gorge of the autumn cherry.

Here's the link to John Peter's post.  Even if the varietal listings are too plant-geeky for you, his introductory discussion of the current messy state of definitions is a good one.  I should add that he's rather a big-shot in the world of Invasive Species Councils, both nationally and at the state level.

NOT NATIVE ENOUGH

And Kathy Jentz sent me this tidbit from a Native Plants Yahoo group:

This is a great thread!  One of my pet peeves has become being a party-pooper, essentially, about native plant sales.  "Native" is not well-defined, much like "natural" processed foods in the grocery store.  At many native plant sales I have been to, I would say 90% of the plants for sale are not what I would call "native": They are native cultivars or are native to the west coast, for example, and not native to the region/physiographic province where the sale is held.  And I have seen a lot of mislabeled plants, as well. 

I think native cultivars (or native hybrids mass-produced by people, if that's what some would rather call them) should be labeled as such.  And if you are going to sell your wares as native, then you should state the USDA region of your seed/root stock source.  Otherwise, the "native" plants are no better than snake oil, in my mind.

God knows I agree with this writer's complaint about plants native to somewhere else in the U.S. being sold as "native."  But unless the goal is preservation of an endangered species, I don't get the objection to cultivars, which often perform better in the disturbed, nonnative soil that most of us have to call our gardens.

Comments

[Jodi DeLong]

You ranters are my heros! I was so delighted when I found your website (I forget through which happy circumstantial link now, but possibly This Garden Is Illegal). Thank you so mcuh for telling it like it is, and for your manifesto above; especially the part about being bored with perfect magazine gardens.You're welcome to visit ours, which is a hodgepodge of imperfections--and we love it.

Rant on!

cheers, jodi in Nova Scotia

[layanee]

As a big fan and participant of ornamental horticulture I shudder to think what would happen if laws are passed to sell only native plants. No more lilacs, no more apple trees, to mention only a few. Monocultural plantings have shown what can happen to both native and non-natives with the unhappy circumstances of Elm disease, Ireland's potato problems and the demise of the great woodlands of the American Chestnut. Diseases and insect plagues can happen anywhere, anytime. Bio-diversity is important! I believe in moderation in all things...except perennials and wine!

[Gloria]

I love the idea of native plants.Plants that have evolved in the conditions it inhabits along with the wildlife present.So that is mostly want I plant these days.
I have been happy with the results

Many plants have a very wide range and adapt quickly to slight changes in environment.
Others do not do well in human habitats. The dogwood Cornus florida is one of these plants.

If all gardeners give up on native dogwoods and plant something else it may in the long run be best for the tree. Stressed trees are certainly first to succumb to disease.
BUT...our native dogwood is one of springs most beautiful sites in the understory of woodlands where it still grows freely and I fervently hope it survives though I never get to grow one in my own backyard.

[Mary M]

Yeah, but kousas are just, well, icky. The flowers come after the leaves and don't give nearly the show. An even bigger problem is the structure which just can't approach the graceful layered tiers of c. florida (or c. alternifolia which, alas, really doesn't thrive in our hot, humid summers). Plus, don't I recall reading somewhere relatively recently that the anthracnose plague may be traceable to the kousas? Or maybe I just dreamt that up as another reason to dislike them.

When oh when are we diehards going to see the anthracnose resistent strains of c. florida that have been trumpeted for several years in the hort lit (ie 'Appalachian Spring' etc.) appear in the retail trade?