Cornus Species, Cornelian Cherry, Cornelian Cherry Dogwood, European Cornel

It is a nice tree has not very showy flower but with edible fruit. I have harvested small quantity of seeds in fall 2015 from variegate...Read Mored variety 'Aurea' and germinate 2 seeds easily in 2 months.

The flowers burst out on leafless branches a few days before the forsythias. They're a greenish yellow, quite attractive, though they may...Read More not be showy enough for those who prefer forsythias.

The scarlet summer fruits are ornamental, and taste a a bit like a sour cherry. I find them tasty fresh (I also like fresh sour cherries), but I can see them used like sour cherries in cooking/baking. This species is widely grown for fruit use in eastern Europe. There are cultivars expressly selected for fruit size and quality, and if you're getting one with fruit harvest in mind I'd go for a cultivar.

Unlike most fruit trees, this one takes care of itself. It's tough, hardy, adaptable, and virtually pest free. The leaves are green and not burgundy/black.

No fall color, leaves fall off while still green.

It is a pretty plant from Europe that is sold at most larger nurseries in the upper Midwest as in Chicagoland. Not often planted by layma...Read Moren homeowners, but occasionally used by landscape designers who know it. It is a dense, dark, rounded small tree that bears small yellow flower clusters for about a month in March into early April. It has a sort of exfoliating bark that looks nice. It bears large red fruit that are edible and used for jams and jellies. No fall color, though. Most European woody plants don't color as well as American and Asian ones.

The plant that I had was given by another person - it have survived its first winter and crowding by taller plants and respond by increas...Read Moree it size - no winter damages are noticed except for the extreme top shoot.