Need help please identify unknown dogwood

[TyroTinker]

Hello all!
I have two large trees in my yard that I think are dogwood. However one has pink flowers and it blooms first. The other one has white flowers and take a couple weeks longer to bloom.
I'm wondering if anyone knows the type of the pink one. I'll post the white one later on when it blooms but I think that is just a regular dogwood tree

Don't mind the selfie... my phones regular camera is busted and I had to borrow my wife's for the pedal shot. The pedals are not in the best shape.

By the way my son loves going out and seeing our trees

 

[rockm]

Cornus Florida--American dogwood. They come in pink and white, both are naturally occurring colors for the tree.

Here in their home range you can see them in bloom at the bottom hills and hollows of the Blue Ridge. It sometimes looks like snowfall at the bottom of mountains because the trees can be thick there. Not as common as it used to be as an introduced disease from Asia--root anthracnose has thinned it in the wild.

Pink flowering trees crop up sometimes in the wild and have been adopted by the nursery trade.

FWIW, the petals on the bloom aren't petals. The "blooms" aren't really flowers. They're called "bracts." The true flowers of the tree are in the center of the bracts...

Also, this is the state tree of Virginia and N.C.

 

[TyroTinker]

Thank you I had no idea.
I moved into my place two years ago but really just started to take care of the outside. (The inside was in terrible shape)
I just want to know what I have so I can take care if it better, also to see if any of it can be used for potential bonsai material

 

[cbroad]

That looks really dark in color for a standard pink, it could be 'rubra' which they call a red flowering dogwood. Nurseries also sell a named variety called 'Cherokee Brave' which I think is basically the same as 'rubra.'

With the red flowering types, I've noticed some years the flowers may be more pink but other years can be a dark pink to red color.

Very nice tree though!

 

[rockm]

Thank you I had no idea.
I moved into my place two years ago but really just started to take care of the outside. (The inside was in terrible shape)
I just want to know what I have so I can take care if it better, also to see if any of it can be used for potential bonsai material

They're beautiful trees. I love them as they remind me of the mountains. It is too bad commercial nurseries push the Kousa (Asian) dogwood at the expense of this native. The American dogwood is more graceful in age, as yours looks to be. It also has attractive small berries after flowering. Overall, with its rugged bark and overall aged character it could be compared to Japanese mume (plum) trees.

Not seen very much as bonsai, as it can be finicky about root work, or just overlooked, or both.

By comparison Kousa is flashier and messier in habit. It has big ugly orange fruit that drops and becomes a rotting mess underneath.

I you're planting dogwoods, skip the kousa. It's a mess. Go with the native varieties.

 

[VAFisher]

I tried one as bonsai. It survived collection in spring 2017 but grew weakly all year. It started to bud out this spring but just kind of petered out and died. I was pretty sad about that one because I really love the species. There is a very interesting one in someone's yard near my house that has both white and pink blooms on it every year. It seems to be one branch that is pink and the rest is white. I've never seen that before.

 

[Dav4]

Great landscape trees, if not very long lived. Yours has great color.

 

[TyroTinker]

I tried one as bonsai. It survived collection in spring 2017 but grew weakly all year. It started to bud out this spring but just kind of petered out and died. I was pretty sad about that one because I really love the species. There is a very interesting one in someone's yard near my house that has both white and pink blooms on it every year. It seems to be one branch that is pink and the rest is white. I've never seen that before.

I would love to try it as bonsai but maybe I'll just leave it alone until I have more experience keeping easier things alive. For now like Dav4 said they make beautiful landscape trees

Could be grafted on? My parents have two apple trees that they have had forever and one day my dad started grafting different types of apples on them. I think they have about 5 types on 1 tree.

 

[Solaris]

I would love to try it as bonsai but maybe I'll just leave it alone until I have more experience keeping easier things alive. For now like Dav4 said they make beautiful landscape trees

Could be grafted on? My parents have two apple trees that they have had forever and one day my dad started grafting different types of apples on them. I think they have about 5 types on 1 tree.

It stands to reason that, if you have the time, starting with good nursery stock might be a good idea. It's already in a pot and used to it.

If you're nervous about it, wait a few years and I'll be able to tell you how well it works out. My Not A Contest tree is a pagoda dogwood. Thus far, I I've learned it's a decent and somewhat predictable back-budder, but not so vigorous about it as a young apple.