Download Dove Tree: A Conversation Piece for the Garden

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plant in the spotlight
Dove Tree: A Conversation Piece for the Garden
by Bob Hill
M
with the
dove tree (Davidia involucrata, USDA Hardiness Zones
6–8, AHS Heat Zones 8–6) began on a
warm spring day at Winterthur Estate and
Garden in Delaware. Pausing momentarily
on a bench, I looked up to see hundreds of
large white flower bracts silently fluttering
above my head. This vision, instantaneous
yet enduring, seemed to me to encapsulate
all the reasons why we garden.
y infatuation
distinctive features
Sources
Digging Dog Nursery, Albion, CA. (707)
937-1130. www.diggingdog.com.
Fairweather Gardens, Greenwich, NJ.
(856) 451-6261. www.fairweather
gardens.com.
62
the American Gardener
Dove tree is distinguished by its large, drooping bracts that resemble handkerchiefs.
intriguing Heritage
Another reason I find dove tree fascinating
is its intriguing horticultural heritage. Native to south central and southwest China,
the species was first discovered in 1869 by
French missionary and naturalist Armand
David—hence its botanical name—in Sichuan Province, not far from Tibet.
David sent dried specimens to Paris
where, in 1871, French botanist Henri Bailon described it as a new genus and species.
The dove tree was subsequently spotted
in China by Augustine Henry, an English
physician assigned to the Imperial Customs
Service. An avid plant collector, Henry sent
dried specimens and plant samples to the
Royal Horticultural Society’s Kew Gardens.
Henry’s enthusiasm for the dove tree
prompted English nursery owner Sir Harry
Veitch to hire plant explorer Ernest H. Wilson to bring back more seeds. Using a map
provided by Henry, Wilson set off in 1900
to find the dove tree. After discovering the
one known tree had been cut down, Wilson
pressed on, found other trees, and sent several hundred seeds home to England.
Meanwhile, Paul Guillaume Farges, another French missionary and plant explorer,
had also come across dove trees in Sichuan
and he sent seeds to the Vilmorin Nursery
in Les Barres, France. In 1899, one of those
seeds germinated and was planted. A rooted
layer from that tree made its way to the Arnold Arboretum in Boston in 1904.
Most of the dove trees sold in American nurseries are descended from the one
found by Farges, which is considered to
be a botanical variety D. involucrata var.
vilmoriniana. A number of selections have
been introduced over the years, including ‘Kylee’s Columnar’ and the variegated ‘Aya Nishiki’, but the most popular is
‘Sonoma’, a grafted form introduced by
the Sonoma Horticultural Nursery in California, which blooms at a very young age.
That’s the one I have in my protected side
yard in Zone 6 southern Indiana. Some
day there’ll be a bench underneath it. m
A former columnist with the Louisville
Courier-Journal, Bob Hill and his wife, Jane,
run Hidden Hill Nursery in Utica, Indiana.
This article was published in the March/April 2013 issue of The American Gardener, the magazine of the
American Horticultural Society (www.ahs.org). Used withj permission.
michael hayman
A member of the tupelo family (Nyssaceae), the dove or handkerchief tree can
get 20 to 40 feet tall and wide under cultivation with a generally pyramidal habit.
As an ornamental, it has much to offer,
starting with green, heart-shaped leaves in
the summer, variable fall color, and interesting reddish-green winter bark.
Red-anthered flowers form rounded
clusters in April and May. Each flower produces a solitary central fruit. But it’s the two
unequal-sized, white petallike bracts, which
hang like protective hands over the fruits,
that steal the show. The larger of these
modified leaves is about seven inches long;
the smaller about three inches long. These
unique blooms have drawn comparisons to
a flock of doves or dangling handkerchiefs.
So what’s not to like? The only major caveat is that the tree usually takes several years
to begin flowering—and often blooms only
every other year. For best results, plant it in
moist, organic-rich, well-drained soil and
provide part or dappled shade, especially in
warmer regions.