It’s a tale of 2 trees…
On the very southern coastal region of BC is our native Pacific Dogwood (Cornus nuttallii). So admired that it’s honoured as our provincial flower.
Across the continent, Eastern Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida) is native to the southernmost tip of Ontario.
Both species often suffer from anthracnose fungus that disfigures leaves & causes twig & branch dieback. Ontario’s native dogwood is considered ‘at risk.’
The answer? A genuinely Canadian fix: combine them.
Enter H.M. Eddie (Henry Matheson Eddie). A nurseryman in BC’s Fraser Valley who got a kick out of creating new varieties of any number of plants. His 1945 success, ‘Eddie’s White Wonder,’ is the combo of the Pacific & the Eastern dogwoods.
Eddie’s dogwood is pretty much disease-free! Beyond that,
- pollinators love the spring flowers.
- Birds gorge on the berry clusters.
- Deer leave the tree alone (except the occasional buck needing to scratch his antlers – so trunk protection is needed.)
- And fall leaf colour is another spectacle.
photo by SVSeekins
It’s been such a triumphant landscape success that Eddie’s White Wonder was honoured as Vancouver’s Centennial tree...
and as one of my favourite trees to find blooming during our morning walks each April 🙂
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Garden Variety Life 