Thomas Jefferson, third president of the US (from 1801 - 1809), once said:

THE GREATEST SERVICE YOU CAN RENDER A CULTURE IS TO ADD A NEW PLANT
TO ITS AGRICULTURE.


Thank you, Prof. Orton!

Two hundred years later, Prof Dr. Elwin Orton, at Rutgers Universities, New Brunswick N.J. achieved the impossible. He started out with two wonderful dogwoods, Cornus nuttallii and Cornus kousa chinensis, he bred them over years and finally was able to give the plant world unique Cornus VENUS KN 30-8.

Cornus kousa ‘KN30-8’ Venus™, as seen by Paul Cappiello, author of the book Dogwoods.

Cornus ‘KN30-8’ Venus™ is a hybrid between Cornus kousa var. chinensis and Cornus nuttallii. It surprises with an abundance of huge, cream-white bracts during the second half of May. Blooms up to 15 cm across set at an early age and last for about three weeks. The plant is a good grower and can reach up to 5 meters in height and a good 3 meters in width. Young plants respond well to light pruning which can produce lower, wider spreading plants and increased bud set. Pruning is best done after flowering.

Cornus ‘KN30-8’ Venus™ has surprisingly vivid autumn foliage color, ranging from deep red to burgundy and yellow highlights. Fruit production is sparse and usually yields non-viable seed.
Cornus ‘KN30-8’ Venus™, as all dogwoods, prefers a slightly acid soil and benefits from addition of organic matter to the backfill during planting.

Dogwoods belong to the family Cornaceae which contains a wide range of spectacular garden plants, however this new introduction is a shining star among all the others. Breeder and introducer of Cornus ‘KN30-8’ Venus™, Dr. Elwin Orton from Rutgers University, has operated the most significant dogwood breeding program in the world for the last 40 years. This most recent introduction has been in development for more than 20 years. For his achievement Dr. Orton recently received the Alva Edison Patent Award.

Cornus ‘KN30-8’ Venus™ so far is only known by a few experts. At the recent trade show PLANTARIUM in the Netherlands, even though it was not flowering at the time, the jury, convinced of a great future of this novelty, awarded it the gold medal. While this plant has been planted in only a few private gardens in Europe, all who see it in bloom will be convinced that it is one of the best new flowering trees for the garden.

For more information on this and other wonderful dogwoods, look to the new book: Dogwoods (ISBN 0-88192-679-5, Timber Press) by Dr. Paul Cappiello of Yew Dell Gardens in Kentucky, USA, and Mr. Don Shadow of Shadow Nursery, Tennessee, USA.