A 'China Girl' for July
At this time of the year the displays of blooms from our familiar garden plants are a delight. The journey to school or work is much less of a chore when stretches of the route are enlivened with the seasonal colour we all know and love. For your own garden, why not look beyond the better known plants and try something a little more unusual?
Cornus kousa 'China Girl' embodies the elegance and beauty that tend to be associated with the traditional values of the East. For the gardener, flowers, fruit and autumn colours mean that it provides interest for much of the year - always something to consider when choosing a plant.
'China Girl' grows into a tall shrub or small tree, reaching a height of between 5 and 7 metres and a spread of about 5 metres on maturity. It is broadly conical in shape. The flowers, which develop in early summer, are made up of a green flower head, surrounded by four ovate white bracts (petal-like leaves), each of them 2.5 to 5 cm long. These beautiful white bracts may remain on the plant for as long as six to eight weeks, creating the impression that it is flowering throughout that time.
Fleshy, red fruit develop after the flowers. They are reminiscent of strawberries in appearance but eating the fruit is not advised. They do serve a highly decorative function, however, and grow up to 2 cm across. The leaves of 'China Girl' also provide a strong incentive for the gardener looking for a versatile, attractive shrub. Ovate, dark green and about 8 cm long, they turn a deep crimson-purple in autumn.
Cornus kousa and its varieties like 'China Girl' are among those plants that thrive in acidic conditions, although they will tolerate a wide range of soil types, apart from alkaline soils over chalk. If your garden does have an alkaline soil there is always the option of growing in containers filled with lime-free compost. 'China Girl' will thrive in a full sun position provided the soil is moisture retentive in summer. Alternatively, it is just as happy in dappled shade, being a woodland plant by origin. In perennial borders 'China Girl' can be grown to add a dimension of height. Also, because its canopy is not too dense and roots not too aggressive it makes a good companion for low growing shrubs, herbaceous perennials and bulbs. It is fully hardy and requires minimal pruning.
'China Girl' makes an interesting and attractive specimen plant and friends and neighbours will wonder how the 'flowers' stay on so long. You can decide whether to let them into the secret that the white, flower-like bracts are in fact modified leaves!