Arboretum & Botanical Garden Bulletin Board

Cornelian Cherry

Cornus mas
Location: Grid P10 side of the gravel road where it meets the chip path down to the lower pond

Cornelian Cherry is actually not a cherry or even very closely related. It is a species of Dogwood, but very different from either the native red twig dogwood Cornus sericea or the flowering dogwood, Cornus florida.

The common name comes from the bright red (usually, there are yellow fruited cultivars) fruit which can reach the size of fruiting cherries. They are becoming one of the trendy, ‘unusual’ edibles that are being promoted these days.

That might be enough of a reason to grow them, but they also make a nice ornamental, small flowering tree. Along with the earliest Forsythias they are the first woody plant to bloom with showy flowers in the Spring. They are right on schedule this year, coming into flower in late March. The three trees in the Arboretum were planted in 1995, so they are essentially ‘mature size’ by now. They are known for being very winter hardy with some references saying as low as zone 3. Our trees in the Arboretum might be a little bigger or flower more profusely if they were not in the shade of the adjacent oaks, but overall they seem to like the somewhat shady exposure. We will have babies for sale!

Monthly Projects

March came in like a lamb this year, and other than a few days when the wind might have roared like the lion it seems to be departing like a lamb as well. This is the time of year when everything happens at once and everywhere we turn there is another project needing attention. One of the most visible projects for the past several years has been taking down the snow fence we put up around the lower pond. We put it up to keep the oak leaves that continue to drop all winter from ending up in the pond. Every year it is a challenge to decide when to take it down, as there are always more oak leaves to drop, but the leaves on the ground start to shade out the grass and it needs to be dry enough to run the mower to chop up the leaves.

Upcoming Events

• Arboretum Associates Annual Meeting
  6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 9
  1912 Center Great Room
  • 25 years of progress in the Arboretum
  • Paul Warnick reporting on his career
• Plant Sale (View the Plant Sale List)
  10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, May 17
  U of I Facilities Greenhouse (875 Perimeter Drive)
  • Traditional favorites and new things to try
  • Annuals, perennials, natives and xerirscape

When visiting the Arboretum, please remember that for your safety, the safety of others and for the protection of wildlife and plant collections, no pets are allowed. Ice on ponds is very unstable — stay off any ice.