I don't think there is anything special about this tree. Most of your comments apply to all new plantings of trees.

The 'Golden Glory' cultivar is more upright and is reported to be more floracious than the species. This cultivar isn't as hardy as the species but will be completely fine in your zone (unless you're zone 4).

Do you plan to shear/prune them and keep them as a tree as time progresses?

Personally I don't like them as a naturally growing shrubs.

If pruned and kept as a tree they look quite nice. The bark and winter silouette can be nice as well.

whaas, I am not sure if I will prune to grow it as a tree yet, I have a neighbor that has a red twig dogwood growing as a shrub and noticed that some of the branches look weak and drooping. I don't want it to look like that, but his were behind another big bush and a tree right in front of it, so maybe lack of sunlight made the branches weak? Or maybe they just grow like that? Or maybe it need pruning as it was growing to make the limbs hardier? I don't know, this is the first dogwood tree I planted.

katrina ellen:

You need not worry about your 'Golden Glory'. It is as tough as they come.

Shape-wise, it is as stated: basically an upright barrel shaped plant, not wide and rounded like the species. It is very floriferous, and I don't think hardiness will be an issue either.

I have more than half a dozen of these on my property since the early 1990s. They have tolerated -28�F in 1994, and two severe ice storms of 2003 and 2009 with 1/2" ice which splayed them open like tulips. They bounced back with aplomb, and continue to delight me and my landscape annually.

I've never pruned mine except to take out a branch that might put my eye out. They are branched to the ground still.

You can provide standard fertilization, and that should be based on a soil test to determine what your current soil fertility actually is. Your local Cooperative Extension Service can provide this for you.

Cherry Dogwood is and should be rated as a fail-safe plant for the midwest and Ohio River valley. If you can't grow this plant, you should give up and move into a high rise apartment.

Thanks viburnum, this will be my one and only tree in my front yard, so I'm happy to hear its hardy. Here in Michigan we get some severely cold weather in the winter so I hope mine fares as well. I will check into the soil test - thanks for that info.

VB has some pretty nice pics of his online. Some of the nicer ones I've seen.

The stems are farely ridgid and different then most other Dogwood shrubs. You have Cornus mas which is a different species than the redtwig dogwood.

Who's this VB guy...

I really ought to add some images over at the PlantFiles, especially the ice storm and aftermath pics - showing that GG can take what Mother Nature dishes out and come back like a champ.

In no way would I recommend 'Golden Glory' as a naturalizing plant. Sticks out like a sore thumb, it does.

I have plain ol' cornus mas...no cultivar. My absolute favorite tree, hands down. I didn't plant it - I acquired it w/ the house 9 years ago - no clue how old it is but the house is 106 yrs now and the occupants of the house from the 40s told me they remember it.

I think it's at 20+ feet now in height and spread. Pruned as a small tree and fantastic!

Behind the garden shed:

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About 5 years ago:

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Winter last year - pardon the junk LOL - you can see the awesome shaggy bark in pic two

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ademink-thanks for posting the pics. What a beautiful tree, I like the other plantings too and that shed is super-nice. What is the burgundy color bush in front of the tree in the 1st pic? That looks great with it.

thanks! the shrub is a ninebark...the variety is 'summer wine'.

The species can be quite variable and I can say that is definitely a beauty.

Has the fall color consistenly been that yellowish, greenish pruple?

Unless it is SUPER dry that is usually what it looks like in the fall. the spring flower display is super consistent too.

the fruiting is not heavy - i wish it was. that is the only thing that i wish was different about it. other than that, i am in love. lol

The one I planted this spring has quite of bit of fruit that its setting...quite surprised. I wonder if its doing so as its quite stressed with such a little rootball it had.

Hoping it pulls through as it a fairly nice branching structure.

i wonder if i actually have more fruit than i think but never see it mature b/c the birds and squirrels are in there by the dozens...?

glad yours is fruiting! i think some just do better than others.

curious if it is self-pollinating...do you know? (VV I'm sure you know...?). mine is obviously multi-trunked but i dont know if that means that each trunk is actually a separate tree that can pollinate the other..............did that just make sense? lol

Hi ademink (aka Cockamamier - that cracked me up...):

I don't believe that Cornus mas requires cross-pollination from another separate plant of this species - but my 'Golden Glory' individuals (original six) did not seem to ever set many fruit when they were the only ones of the species at the Valley.

I have since planted several seedling individuals and several of a selection called 'Redstone'. I am appreciating more fruit annually now. Cause and effect? I am not sure, but it hasn't hurt.

Since Cornus mas flowers very early in spring, when there are not lots of pollinating insects active, there may be a correlation with this situation. If you don't see many bugs out and about in late March/early April (for me) - and you aren't into hand-pollination of lots of little flowers while it's frigid - then you may always have small fruit crops.

Also, be careful about insecticide applications. It is becoming standard to use systemic full spectrum insecticides, which kill anything that consumes plant parts that contain the chemical. That may end up causing damage to nontarget insects, such as the beneficials that are doing pollinating for us.

Finally: multi-trunked doesn't necessarily mean more than one plant. Looking at your great array of images, I think you just have one tree with several stems from one crown. No further value in cross-pollination from that situation. If you have had pollination of your spring flowers, then you could go look now and see greenish fruit growing which will mature to red then purple this fall (if birds and rodentia don't beat you to it).

Glad you found my humor amusing - I aim to please! :)

Makes total sense re: pollination. Mine blooms the same time as yours and there aren't too many insects unless it is unseasonably warm.

I do get SOME fruit but definitely not an abundance. But again...I have a ton of wildlife in the backyard that seem to love them.

Do you get a lot of seedlings? I only get a few but have been able to sell them on my garden tours for a hefty price after folks see "mama" in real life.

Would love to see photos of yours some time!

Thanks for the info on pollination. I will look 'Redstone' - I'm interested in purchasing one cultivar to plant in the yard that might stay smaller. I would leave it shrub-like.

Any suggestions are welcome! I'm mildly obsessed w/ the white and purple fruiting ones but probably only b/c they aren't available...isn't that just like a collector? lol

andrea

I'm a few months late to this party, but will add my 2c anyway.

I planted two species C. mas in 1978. They are near the street and received mid-day sun only until two years ago. Now they get afternoon sun as well. They are still doing fine except that one is a little too close to the street and I'm having to keep it trimmed back. I need to remove that one. The other sustained damage when a tow truck driver extracted an errant Jeep from our yard this past spring. Both of my C. mas are probably 25 feet tall and both have fruited nicely each year, but I had no seedlings until the plants were 10-15 years old. Seedlings are uncommon.

I planted a 'Golden Glory' in 1996. It was damaged by a contractor in 1998, but survived and is doing well. It's now 14-15' tall and looking good, but has never fruited. It gets late morning sun only.

I'm looking for scions of named Cornus mas. If anyone has some to spare please let me know. You can see some of the things I have to trade on my list here at GW. I do have many more if there is interest.

Thanks,
John