First Lady Flowering Dogwood
| Qty | 1 | 5 | 10+ |
| Price per Plant | $27.50 | $8.00 | $7.00 |
Cornus florida ‘First Lady’
The First Lady is a choice specimen cultivar and Boyd Nursery Company original remarkable for its yellow and green variegated foliage and large yet delicate white spring blooms. Patented by Fernando Campbell Boyd, Jr., the First Lady was discovered in 1957 and first observed flowering in 1967. The tree has brilliant maroon and pink fall foliage, and a habit that is wide-spreading and multi-stemmed. The First Lady plant patent number is #2916, registered on October 25, 1967. Planting instruction can be found at boydnursery.net/planting/.
| Classification | |
|---|---|
| Diseases & Insects | Dogwood anthracnose is the most serious; trees are also susceptible to powdery mildew, leaf spot, canker, root rot and leaf and twig blight; stressed trees also become vulnerable to borers, leaf miners, and scale |
| Family | Cornaceae |
| Flowers | True flowers are greenish yellow and unimportant, each 1/4 inch across, in a crowded 1/2 inch wide head, showy parts of inflorescences are the 4 white bracts which are obovate or emarginate, about 2 inches long, the entire involucre (bracts) 3 to 4 inches across, occur in April to May, effective for 10 to 14 days depending on the weather; true flowers are borne in short stalked comes (umbels?) and are subtended by the handsome bracts; normally in full regalia in mid April |
| Growth Rate | |
| Hardiness Range | zone 6a – 8b *need help finding your hardiness zone? |
| Leaves | Leaves are opposite, simple, oval or ovate, 3 to 6 inches long, 1 and 1/2 to 3 inches wide, abruptly acuminate, broad cuneate to rounded at base; leaves are brilliant green with gold outlining, glaucous beneath and usually only pubescent on the veins, with 6 to 7 vein pairs; leaves are a handsome bronze-green when unfolding and have a consistent red to reddish purple fall color; one of the most consistent trees for excellent fall color |
| Plant Type | |
| Primary Features | |
| Size | 20-40 feet tall at maturity with an equal or greater spread |
| Sun Requirement |
What am I buying?
We sell First Lady Dogwoods as rooted cuttings. Taken from Wikipedia, “a plant cutting is a piece of a plant that is used in horticulture for vegetative (asexual) propagation. A piece of the stem or root of the source plant is placed in a suitable medium such as moist soil. If the conditions are suitable, the plant piece will begin to grow as a new plant independent of the parent, a process known as striking.” Put more simply, a rooted cutting is a small clone of the specimen from which it was taken. As a genetically identical clone, the cutting shares all the characteristic traits and attributes of the cultivated variety. Our rooted cuttings are 3-6 months old and 4-8 inches in stem length above the soil line. They are clipped from our private stock plants and grown in root pruning trays at our temperature controlled greenhouse.
When are plants collected?
Once your order is placed, your plants will be collected as soon as the weather permits. This time-frame is normally within 3-7 days. During heavy order periods (April-May), this collection time can grow to 10-14 days.
How are plants shipped?
All shipments are mailed via USPS Priority Mail using PirateShip.com. We monitor national weather conditions and temperatures for shipments. If at any time your order must be delayed for weather concerns, we will contact you by phone and/or email. The day that your order is completed or partially shipped, you will receive an email containing your package tracking number. You can also find this updated information by logging into your account on our website.
