In early spring, there is nothing more beautiful than a dogwood tree in full bloom. That same tree in fall is just as striking with its brilliant show of scarlet to burgundy foliage and bright red fruits.

One cannot help but note how striking they are in landscapes around the community at this time of year. Unfortunately since the early 1970s there has been a dogwood decline in much of the country. Entire native colonies have been wiped out by a range of disease and insect problems.

Landscape designer and author Jo Kellum encourages Southerners to plant dogwoods because they provide great year-round interest, but said how and where they are planted has a lot to do with keeping these valuable trees healthy in a landscape.

The flowering dogwood Cornus florida is native to much of the southeastern United States. They are generally found growing under tall pine trees or at the edge of a deciduous forest area. They prefer protected areas with filtered sunlight, high humidity and moist, fertile, loamy soil with good drainage.

Steps suggested by Kellum for success with dogwoods include buying only from reputable nurseries rather than digging natives from the wild. If you can find them she suggests buying Cornus florida Appalachian Spring dogwoods, which have been found to be anthracnose resistant. Anthracnose is the disease which has so devastated the native dogwood population in home gardens and in the wild.

Choose planting locations carefully. They need shade to prevent drying and stress in summer heat but rainy periods contribute to anthrac-nose, a disease spread by water droplets similar to the fungal disease black spot which affects roses.

Kellum recommends what she calls high shade or planting them under the canopy of tall shade trees such as pines. High shade allows proper air circulation to dry leaves faster and also helps prevent powdery mildew, another disease issue which may not kill a tree but stresses it, making it more susceptible to drought conditions.

Dappled, slanted sunlight peeking through tall trees increases photosynthetic activity, more flowering and healthier trees.

Dogwoods should never be planted too close to other trees or shrubs or squashed up against walls, fences or houses. When they touch each other, it is too easy for disease to spread from one tree to another, Kellum said.

Foliage should remain as dry as possible when watering with a hose. Drought weakens dogwoods, even well-established mature trees in a landscape.

Supplemental watering is recommended using a slow-running hose on top of the soil surface not too far from the trunk during drought. In summer heat, roots of dogwoods, which are less than 1 year old, should be watered every day and older trees every seven to 10 days during dry conditions.

Excessive watering should be avoided as it can result in poor root development or decay. Dogwoods have shallow roots like azaleas and do not like wet feet.

Dogwood bark is tender and damaged easily with gardening equipment. Knicks can allow insect damage. Mulch is recommended and should be applied like a donut with the trunk as a hole and mulch starting 12 inches out from the trunk. Dogwood leaves should be removed after they fall and never composted.

Kousa dogwoods, native to the Orient, bloom about three weeks after our native species and are a good alternative dogwood species. They are not as prone to disease, are quite showy and can prolong the dogwood season in spring.

According to Norman Winter, former MSU Horticulturist and author, there are lots of varieties on the retail market. Mississippi gardeners should consider adding them to landscapes more frequently for their outstanding spring bloom.

Elwin R. Orton Jr., a leading plant breeder has been working at Rutgers University since the early 1970’s to develop disease-resistant dogwood cultivars to replace the dying native species.

He accomplished what many of his contemporaries said couldn’t be done. He crossed the native species, by freezing pollen he collected, with that of the Kousa, which blooms several weeks after the native, a cross impossible in the wild.

After testing, retesting and evaluating plants developed from the crosses over a 25 year period, the first of his Stellar species hit the retail market.

There are six patented Stellar dogwoods available today: Ruth Ellen, Stardust, Constellation, Celestial, Aurora and Stellar Pink. All thrive in zones 5-8 and are hardy, heavy blooming, fast-growing and disease resistant, but produce only sterile seeds in limited numbers. Not difficult to propagate from stem cuttings, they are a commercial success in the nursery business according to The American Horticulture Society’s magazine, The American Gardener, which did a big story on Orton’s achievements with dogwoods and hollies in their September-October 2012 edition. Rutgers.edu/dogwood has pictures and information.

Norman Winter writes that the dogwood is one of the best small trees for the urban Southern landscape. Both he and Kellum suggest adding a dogwood when developing a bed of azaleas since they require similar growing conditions.

There are several theories about how the tree got its common name but no one is quite certain. In Europe, they used the tree bark to make a treatment for dogs with the mange. Another theory is that it came from the word dag which means skewer. The wood was good for skewering meat to cook over a fire.

Still another story relates to the early American colonists calling them dog trees because they bore worthless little fruit known as dog berries. However the name originated, dogwoods are beautiful in spring, but for brilliant fall color, they are nothing short of outstanding.

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Miriam Jabour, a Master Gardener and Master Flower Show judge, has been active in the Openwood Plantation Garden Club for over 35 years. Write to her at 1114 Windy Lake Drive, Vicksburg, MS 39183.