Many amateur gardeners mistakenly believe that dogwood and cotoneaster are one and the same plant, only the names are slightly different. This is far from the case, so before planting shrubs, you should understand their similarities and differences, as well as the issue of growing each species.
Dogwood
Dogwood (Cornus mas) - a plant in the form of deciduous shrubs or trees.
Dogwood
The name is Türkic-speaking: the word "kyzyl" means "red".
Origin
The exact place of origin is unknown, but an ancient legend is known, according to which the founder of Rome, Romulus, having stuck a spear in the ground, designated a place for the future construction of the city. The spear took root and gave the first dogwood crop.
Interesting. There is no one to confirm this, much more Romulus "became famous" for the murder of his brother Remus and the name of the city in his honor. The bones of the plant were found at the sites of people of the Neolithic era. There is a Christian belief that the cross on which the Savior was crucified was made of dogwood. There are still no historical or archaeological evidence for this.
Gardeners in central Russia are somewhat skeptical of the possibility of growing a southern plant. In vain. Asian frosts are no less severe. Viable and fruitful plantings of the Main Botanical Garden of the Russian Academy of Sciences in 1950 only confirmed this.
Wild forms are found everywhere in the Caucasus, less often in the southern regions of Russia, as well as in Moldova, Ukraine, Central and Asia Minor, China, Japan, North America, and in central and southern parts of Europe. Garden crops are everywhere where conditions suitable for them exist.
Dogwood is a shrub that is capable of reaching a height of 2 to 6 m. Its shoots have a brown hue, oval-shaped leaves are located on them.
Dogwood flower and fruit descriptions
It is a bright red color with various shades that bear the fruits of most varieties. Less common are yellow berries (considered albino), purple, and even almost black.
Dogwood fruit
The shape is also diverse, may vary in each region. Among them, the most common:
- ellipsoidal;
- spherical;
- pear-shaped.
The fruit is a drupe with a high juice content. The taste is sweet and sour, sometimes a little astringent. The weight of the berry is 2 ... 6 g; in selected varieties it may be slightly more.
Useful A curious feature: flowering begins before the leaves appear (somewhere in April) and lasts about two weeks. Umbrella inflorescences, 15 ... 30 bisexual flowers.
Composition, beneficial properties and use
Dogwood is a real storehouse of valuable ingredients, besides carbohydrates and fiber, which are usual for berries. In content, for example, of ascorbic acid, they surpass even blackcurrant berries, which is considered the standard in this indicator.
Vitamin composition of the fruit:
- Carboxylic acids (especially rare and valuable amber).
- Tannins with astringent properties.
- Nitrogen compounds.
- Essential oils.
- Alkaline and alkaline earth metals, zinc, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, sulfur.
- Vitamins A, C, P.
- Polyphenols
- Volatile
Dogwood bloom
The scent of this plant in the garden itself repels unwanted insects. Honey manufacturers, by contrast, are welcome guests. Bacteria also feel unwell.
The healing properties are difficult to overestimate. Useful properties are so numerous that it is impossible to mention everything, the main ones:
- Leaves and their decoction have wound healing, anti-inflammatory, urine, and choleretic actions.
- Infusions of leaves and branches are effective for gout, anemia, a general metabolic disorder.
- Infusion of berries strengthens the gastrointestinal tract, prevents diarrhea.
- Fruit juice helps maintain normal blood sugar.
- A decoction of the roots can relieve rheumatic pain, sciatica.
In nutritional terms, cornel is so valuable that it deserves a separate section of gastronomy. Dried, frozen berries almost retain all their useful features. Freezing, as many believe, even improves their taste by removing acidity.
Interesting! Use cases: preserves, jams, jellies, juice, tinctures, sauces, cooking with meat, poultry, fish.
Species and varieties
Dogwood is divided into 50 species, which are combined into 4 subgenera. Among them are known in the world and are popular among gardeners:
- Dogwood ordinary (male). A small plant up to 5-6 m dogwood is a tree and shrub (up to 4 m).
- Dogwood is white. Shrub up to 3 m tall.
- Dogwood Canadian. Small shrub up to 20 cm tall.
Alyosha
An early variety with yellow amber color. They taste sour-sweet, their flesh is tender. It begins to bear fruit at 3 years after planting, in some regions from 2. The variety is resistant to disease and tolerates prolonged frosts.
Helena
Early variety with dark red fruits. The berries have a slightly sour aftertaste, going after a bright sweet taste. The pulp of the fetus is dense and the bones are well separated.
Kizil Elena
The variety is often planted for production purposes, juices, jams and even pastille are prepared from it.
Nikolka
One of the earliest varieties with a bright cherry-tone fruit. The pulp is dense, tastes sweet with a slight acidity. The plant tolerates frost well up to 32 degrees.
Elegant
Another early variety with rich red fruits. Juicy flesh of dark red color has a sweet and sour taste. The plant tolerates frosts well, even berries do not lose their appearance during the first frosts.
Transplant after purchase in open ground
To purchase seedlings is necessary in the autumn. The best option for planting time is autumn, as soon as leaf fall begins.
Dogwood transplant
Selecting a site is for permanent landing - partial shade, in sunny places it feels less comfortable. Planting plants is necessary 3-5 meters from the fence and from each other.
Before planting, a pit is prepared, with a depth of 80 cm and a width of 0.8-1 m. Humus is laid on the bottom of the hole mixed with mineral fertilizers, a small layer of earth is poured on top of it, spilled with water, and a dogwood is planted - an ornamental shrub. Around the plant, the soil is poured and compacted, after which it is shed.
Propagation by cuttings
Like all plants, dogwood (tree or shrub) propagates in several ways. The most common is vegetative. Only green shoots that are no more than 5 years old are suitable for breeding. Lignified are also suitable, but they take root very poorly, therefore, in order to save time and effort, it is best to use only young branches.
Shoots are cut in the morning, 15 cm each. Each of them should have a minimum of 2 pairs of leaf plates. The bottom pair is removed, the cuttings are placed for several hours (at least 6) in a heteroauxin solution.
Important! Periodically it is necessary to check the planting and spill.
After that, they are planted at a slight angle in the prepared sand (it is pre-washed). Next, the landing is covered with polyethylene, but there should be space above the cuttings.
Dogwood Care
It’s easy to take care of the plant. It is necessary to weed around a shrub or tree area. If necessary, irrigate (1-2 times a week).
Dogwood (a tree or shrub) must be fed twice a season. In spring (at the beginning of the growing season) should be fed with fertilizers that contain a large amount of nitrogen, in the fall - potassium.
4 Dogwood Care
To avoid the appearance of pests and diseases on dogwood trees or shrubs, as well as to give the plants a decorative look, it is necessary to trim at least once a year. Dogwood responds well to circumcision in the spring and autumn.
Cotoneaster - ornamental shrub
Cotoneaster is an evergreen shrub that adorns the garden all year round, in spring and summer it pleases with delicate and bright flowers, in autumn with red fruits.
Origin and appearance
Cotoneaster remotely resembles quince, so it was given the name Cotoneaster (which means “quince-like”). The family has more than a hundred different varieties of cotoneaster. In the wild, they are found throughout Africa and Europe. Many summer residents, confusing it with dogwood, acquire shrubs and expect a tasty harvest of fruits with a skin that begins to shine beautifully after full ripening.
Cotoneaster
Irga is capable of reaching a height of 3-6 meters. Shoots, lignified, acquire a blackish tone of the bark. The leaves of a bright green hue are oval and slightly shiny.
The flowers are small and collected in small inflorescences of 15-20 flowers, sometimes 25. The bush begins to bloom until foliage appears on the shoots.
Decorative properties
Cotoneaster (irga) belongs to creeping shrubs. He has proven himself as a plant that can be used for landscaping cities and summer cottages. Often it is used for planting rock garden compositions or single plantings (as a groundcover).
The main decorative element of the irgi is red fruits, which for a long time do not fall from the shoots. Another advantage is the leaves, as they are green throughout the year. Thanks to the fruits and leaves, cotoneaster looks decorative year-round.
Species and varieties
Cotoneaster has a large number of species, some of them are deciduous, others are evergreen. Each of them has its own unique beauty.
Cotoneaster fruit
Ordinary
Beautiful deciduous species, capable of reaching up to 2 m in height. Its leaves are ovoid, bright green. Flowers are inconspicuous, pale pink, collected in inflorescences. The fruits resemble small red apples that fall at the end of September.
Pressed
Not a very tall plant, grows only up to 30 cm in height. The leaves are small, in the summer they have a green tint, by autumn they turn purple. The flowers are small, have a pink tone, they sit for 1-2 throughout the shoot. After ripening, the fruits become bright red, having a small size, only 5-7 mm.
Cotoneaster reproduction
Horizontal
Evergreen representative of the family, capable of reaching a height of 45 to 55 cm. The shoots, growing, begin to snuggle up to the ground. On them, 1-1.5 cm of green color are formed, having a rounded shape. By autumn, they change color to a purple tone. Pleases with its bright flowering (pink-red flowers), alternating with the formation of red fruits.
Transplant after purchase in open ground
Cotoneaster does not have special requirements for growing conditions, so it can be planted anywhere, but it feels much better in the shaded. Before planting, a hole is prepared with a depth of 0.7 m and a width of 0.5 m. A soil mixture of peat, humus and earth is laid at its bottom (1: 1: 1). The mixture is spilled with water, and the bush is planted in a pit.
Useful Cotoneaster shrub requirements for planting and care are standard: regular watering, seasonal top dressing with complex fertilizers, anti-aging haircuts and preventive pruning. Cotoneaster easily tolerates a short drought, but it is better not to delay it with watering, as it begins to drop leaves from a lack of nutrition.
Breeding
Cotoneaster propagates vegetatively; for this, green shoots of 10-15 cm with 2-3 leaf nodes should be used. The lignified cuttings process will be more time-consuming, and the survival rate is much lower. The best time for breeding is the month of August.
For planting planting material for propagation, a substrate is prepared from sand and peat. Peat is placed on the bottom, a large layer of washed sand is poured on top. Landing is covered with a film. By spring, cuttings should take root.
Two beautiful shrubs will make the garden brighter and more comfortable. Despite the small similarity of leaves and fruits in some varieties, the most striking difference is the ability to grow: cotoneaster is pressed to the ground, dogwood is an upright bush.
