Product Description

Dogwood trees and shrubs are unquestionably among the superstars of the ornamental garden. Although cornelian cherry (Cornus mas) and common dogwood (C. sanguinea) have been grown in Europe since ancient times, it is only since the age of exploration in the 18th and 19th centuries that dogwoods from the New World and Asia have ascended to the high thrones of gardens, where their aristocracy remains unchallenged today. Given the huge popularity of dogwoods as garden plants, not to mention the hundreds of choice selections and hybrids that have come to prominence in recent decades, it is surprising that there has never been a horticultural book on the genus. Paul Cappiello fills this longstanding gap with this definitive treatment for gardeners and enthusiasts. Providing a solid overview of all dogwoods of horticultural merit, the author provides more than two hundred stunning photos to help with the daunting tasks of identification and plant selection. He provides helpful details on cultivation, combating pests and diseases, and the fundamentals of breeding and selection. Based on years of research, first-hand observation, and interviews with dozens of specialists and nurserypeople, Dogwoods is an unprecedented guide to the diversity of plants available in nurseries today. Written in engaging and informative prose, this book will be treasured by generations of gardeners.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #611648 in Books
• Published on: 2005-03-01
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 224 pages

From Booklist
The dogwoods comprise a varied group of trees and shrubs. The flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) is the most familiar; it's an extremely graceful tree with horizontal branches that tilt upward at the ends. Amazingly enough, dogwoods have thrived since the time of the dinosaurs and have spread over most of the Northern Hemisphere. Beneath each species, Cappiello and Shadow alphabetically arrange the plant's cultivars, forms, and varieties, describing their height and the color of their flowers, stems, and leaves. There is information on their growth habits, foliage, flowers, fruit, bark, breeding and selection, and insect and disease problems. And this wealth of information is accompanied by 238 stunning color photographs. George Cohen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
"A ground-breaking and worthy text."Dick Bir, American Gardener, September/October 2005 (American Gardener )

"This long-needed work brings us up to speed on the latest and best cultivars emerging from dogwood breeding programs across the country and around the world."Horticulture, November/December 2005 (Horticulture )

"Youll find practical advice for growing dogwoods as well as a mind-blowing variety of them in [this] dauntingly thorough book." Valerie Easton, Seattle Times, May 19, 2006 (Seattle Times )

"A ground-breaking and worthy text."—Dick Bir, American Gardener, September/October 2005 (Dick Bir American Gardener )

"This long-needed work brings us up to speed on the latest and best cultivars emerging from dogwood breeding programs across the country and around the world."—Horticulture, November/December 2005 (Horticulture )

"You'll find practical advice for growing dogwoods as well as a mind-blowing variety of them in [this] dauntingly thorough book."— Valerie Easton, Seattle Times, May 19, 2006 (Valerie Easton Seattle Times )

From the Author
Don Shadow is owner of Shadow Nursery, a wholesale nursery in Winchester, Tennessee, specializing in woody ornamentals and rare and unusual plants.

Customer Reviews

Good, thorough, but not thorough enough!
It's a great book for plant geeks and more casual gardners as well. Unfortunately, I think it's written from the perspective of a Southern gardner, so the information is often very much slanted to dogwwod growers from the South and to a lesser extent, the East Coast. I live in the Pacfic NW and I was looking for some in-depth information on our native dogwoods, the Pacific Flowering Dogwood and Bunchberry (Red Osier dogwood is hard to kill here so I didn't need too much help with it). Their discussion of the Pacific Dogwood is very brief, taking up about one page. Same goes for Bunchberry. With both species, they determine that they're very hard to grow in the South. Oh well, it's still a good book with lots of good information and beautiful photos. If you are a fan of the Eastern and Asian dogwood varieties, this is the book for you!

Comprehensive description of cultivars
The book contains a good description of Dogwood cultivars. I found it useful for identification purposes. Pathologies affecting Cornus are also well described. On the other hand I found that cultural techniques are insufficiently addressed.

Best Source for Cultivar Info
This comprehensive book is a must for anyone considering raising or breeding dogwoods. Indeed, anyone setting aside the money and space for a dogwood tree should first look at this book, or perhaps one other: The only source I know of that comes close is the "Manual of Woody Landscape Plants" by Michael A. Dirr. Naturally, this book, which looks only at dogwoods, includes some cultivars not covered by Dirr, and has about 2 or 3 times as much text as Dirr does for each cultivar.

The sort of info covered? Depth of information varies, but basically: Breeder or introducer; whether it's a sport of another named variety; height, width and form; flower, berry and foliage description (size, color and shape); flower density; blooming period; often word on resistance or otherwise to various fungi; patent number, if applicable (some varieties are not yet patented or even available for sale, but are included due to the authors' opinion of their superior merit); and whether the cultivar is a "bogus" name or copy of another cultivar.

This book also has lovely photos (The Dirr book has only some line drawings, although Dirr has other, also excellent books, with color photos, but which are far less comprehensive). Not every variety has a photo; many have just a close-up of a flower with bracts; others include a photo of the overall look of the tree in bloom, or with autumn color, or close-ups of autumn berries. It really helps to have 3 or 4 photos to judge a cultivar properly. If one were to fault the book for anything it would be for not having 3 big photos for all of the (non-bogus) cultivars, but then it would weigh -- and cost -- twice as much.