Why Plant Celestial® Rutgers Dogwood?
East meets West in this healthy, robust Rutgers Hybrid Dogwood tree that’s easy for even novice gardeners to grow. Celestial® Dogwood (a.k.a. ‘Galaxy’) is a small, upright, ornamental tree that will grace your landscape with loads of large snow-white flowers in spring and ruby-red foliage in fall. Blooming as its Flowering Dogwood “father” fades and before its Japanese Kousa Dogwood “mother” begins, the hybrid Celestial® bridges the gap between these two heavy hitters of spring and looks sweet with irises and columbines planted at its feet.
Forty years ago America’s beloved Flowering Dogwood tree—considered by many to be America’s favorite flowering tree—was threatened by a one-two punch of a pest called Dogwood borer and a disease called Dogwood anthracnose. In the 1970s, legendary plant breeder Dr. Elwin Orton of Rutgers University devised a plan to improve the disease resistance of Flowering Dogwood by hybridizing it with the naturally disease-resistant Asian “Kousa” Dogwood. Dr. Orton’s brilliant program has yielded a bumper crop of fantastic new hybrid Dogwood trees for the garden, including Celestial® Dogwood, the first introduction. It may sound a little funny to think of a tree as an “invention,” but Dr. Orton was inducted into the New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame in 2012 for his visionary work.
How to use Celestial® Rutgers Dogwood in the landscape?
This is a hybrid between Florida and Kousa Dogwoods. It is very vigorous, blooms heavily, and is resistant to the common Dogwood problems. Large flower bracts open pure white and appear after florida blooms but before kousa blooms. No fruit is produced on this dapper specimen, and it will dress up your front entryway or patio with style, without overwhelming the space.
How To Plant Celestial® Rutgers Dogwood
Because the Celestial® Dogwood tree has such an excellent genetic makeup, several common Dogwood problems are essentially eliminated. The risk of this hybrid tree contracting the anthracnose or borer issues that purebred Flowering Dogwoods sometimes succumb to is virtually nil. All that is left for you to do is to make sure this tree is satisfied in its cultural requirements. Regular irrigation and freely draining soil are the biggies—Rutgers Dogwoods don’t like to dry out, but they can’t sit for too long with “wet feet.” Full sun or light shade is best.
How To Water
Water weekly, or better yet, use the Bower & Branch® Water Element to deliver just the right amount of moisture to your tree throughout the growing season.
How To Prune
Pruning may not be needed but is best done shortly after the flowers are spent.
How Does Shipping Work?
Bower & Branch Trees, the real BIG trees, don’t fit in a box! Our big trees, sizes XL and bigger, require expert delivery and care, that means our extra-large trees are shipped on Bower & Branch trucks. We are the only ones who know how to ship our big and bigger trees and plants with tender loving care. We deliver your trees and plants directly to you. Ask Bower & Branch about planting services – we'd be happy to assist in installation.
*For Big trees and Shrubs, Size XL and bigger: Review our Seasonal Shipping Timelines and Policy here.
Your trees and plants are grown across the United States at various Bower & Branch Growers. Depending on your location, your plant orders may be shipped from various locations. Please expect orders with multiple items to be delivered over a number of days as a result. Orders made up of numerous items or selections will not arrive at your home on the same day.
Shipping Delays:
From time to time, Bower & Branch Growers may determine to delay order shipment based on various factors for plant health. Weather in your region, as well as, where your plants are grown, is always considered when shipping. Extreme weather conditions may delay some or all of your order. Bower & Branch allows our Growers to make final shipping decisions based solely to benefit your trees and plants’ health and success.
How Does Sizing Work?
The size of our trees have nothing to do with the container size like you may find elsewhere–big doesn't mean just height - it’s also vigor, age, and overall health. Other online retailers are going to tell you that a plant is a seven gallon, that means nothing to your tree or plant (or you.)
Our trees for sale online are graded on large, x-large, and even bigger sizes. This is because our trees are sized by their age—the higher the letter, the more mature the tree. The age determines the trees’ overall height, size of the trunk and the overall branch density.
All of these characteristics are what you should be looking for when choosing a tree for immediate impact and instant curb appeal. Our extra-large tree and plant sizes are sure to wow you and your neighbors!
See the size guides below.
