One of the best trees for our Great Lakes region is the flowering crabapple. Plant breeders have gone a long way in developing many fine varieties that show good form and disease resistance. Let's explore a few.
For the larger yard, two good choices are 'Adirondack' and 'Prariefire'. They both grow to about 20 feet tall, and are upright in form. 'Adirondack' has white blossoms that form from red buds, giving the tree a bicolor effect. Its fruits are red-orange, the foliage is medium green. 'Prariefire' sports dark red flowers and fruits. Its foliage remains a reddish-green throughout the growing season. Both varieties show excellent disease resistance to scab, fire blight, rust and mildew.
For smaller landscapes, there are two good choices, 'Sargent' and 'Jewelberry'. 'Sargent' forms a tree about eight feet tall and wide, with a somewhat horizontal spread. It can be substituted for common flowering dogwood in the more northern reaches of our region. Its blossoms are white, fruits are a dark red. 'Jewelberry' is slightly larger, with a rounded form, about ten feet tall. Its flowers emerge white from pink buds, its fruits are red. Both 'Sargent' and 'Jewelberry' display good disease resistance.
If you are yearning for a dogwood, but you live a little north of the safe growing zone for most dogwood varieties, there is hope. Cornus mas, or Cornelian Cherry dogwood, is hardy into zone 4. It has yellow blooms, before the leaves emerge. The Cornelian Cherry dogwood can be planted in either full sun to moderate shade. It requires less moisture than the other dogwoods and is less disease prone than common dogwood. As an added bonus, it sets edible fruits.
For those who live in zones 5b to 6a of our region, Cornus florida, the common dogwood, has been a good choice to grow. Anthracnose has been a recent problem, but there have been only spotty outbreaks of Anthracnose in our region. Varieties that remain popular and are still doing well in the southern part of our region include 'Cherokee Chief', with red bracts, and 'Cherokee Princess', a white flowering form.
