Cornus capitata?

[AndyC]

A mystery weed appeared in my garden last year and having left it alone out of curiosity it has turned into a quite attractive small shrub (about 1M tall). I have found two others around the garden since wnich have also been left alone. I assume that birds must have dropped the seed.
After many attempts to identify the plant I've tentatively settled on Cornus capitata, any thoughts?

It would be too easy if I had waited for flowers. If I'm right then its is a nice weed to have.

[JohnH]

I have absolutely no idea what it could be ( as usual ) but it certainly is a very nice weed to have. Your local birds have excellent taste.. where would they find it?
Cornus capitata is a pretty big shrub by all accounts.

[AndyC]

Your local birds have excellent taste.. where would they find it?
Cornus capitata is a pretty big shrub by all accounts.

I have peeped into neighbours gardens but haven't found anyone nearby growing it. Have now found a total of five plants in the garden among all the other weeds.

It does get big, I have been viewing a Burncoose video in which Charles Williams is looking at and talking about his 'tree' on the Caerhays estate, magnificent.

[Phil11]

Hi, it would be good to see some pics without raindrops and with something else to give a sense of scale.
Your pic is definately cornus-like, although it's hard to be specific without flowers.
It can take ages to flower when grown from seed.


I have grown Cornus capitata in various gardens
The original plants I had came from Cannington College in Somerset in the early 1990's
One ended up in my mothers garden in Haywards Heath West Sussex where it regularly flowered and fruited remaining evergreen in an east facing border.
The fruit produced many seedlings and these have been transplanted all over East and West Sussex.

[charlie]

Welcome to the forum Phil

[AndyC]

Hi Phil, welcome.
Picture for scale (with wine bottle)


Close ip picture without raindrops or dew (not easy in Cornwall at the moment)

[AndyC]

I dug the plant up today with the intention of moving it to somewhere more suitable and discovered that it is in fact multiple plants (about 15) all in a clump. I guess a whole fruit must have been dropped and all its seeds germinated to form the clump. Elsewhere in the garden I have only found single stems.

[Phil11]

Hi Andy, I hope the transplants have taken in their new positions.
I have looked again at the pictures and remain certain it's a tree like Cornus, but still reluctant to put a species name to it, as these all look so similar.
One of the transplants from my late mother's garden in Haywards Heath W Sussex found its way to a garden I maintain in the tiny village of Westdean, in the Lower River Cuckmere Valley, East Sussex. This particular plant would have self seeded in HH in 2014, and was planted out in approx 2017, it has made a small tree of 4 metres high and is about to flower for the first time!
What is notable about the particular planting location is that it is a severe frost pocket, and the CC has been fully hardy and fully evergreen during the past seven years.
Later this year, I will post some pics.
All the best

[Phil11]

Welcome to the forum Phil

Thank you. Sorry I have been absent for a while!

[hortusgardens]

Looks very much like Cornus capitata, there is a large one in a clients garden which I grew from seed about 20 years ago. I'll post some pics when it flowers, should be a month or so.
In the mean time I'll take some pics of the leaves & the tree next week when I am there and post them..