Flowering Dogwood

(Cornaceae - Dogwood Family)

Form

• small ornamental tree
• maturing at 15' tall by 25' wide or even larger under optimum conditions, but often much smaller in non-Southern climates or under stressful conditions
• upright oval growth habit in youth becomes a spreading mounded growth habit with age, with horizontal limbs becoming arching, layered, heavy, and slightly pendulous
• slow growth rate

Culture

• full sun to full shade
• performs best in evenly moist, well-drained, acidic soils in partial sun; soil pH is extremely important for this species to survive and thrive, as it is intolerant of alkaline pH soils and struggles in neutral pH soils; it also does not do well in dry soils, poor soils, compacted soils, wet soils, or during periods of prolonged heat and drought, but performs well under high humidity conditions
• propagated by rooted stem cuttings, cuttings grafted onto seedling rootstock, or seeds
• Dogwood Family, with many potential disease and pest problems (many of which are encouraged if improperly placed in akaline to neutral pH soils, poorly drained soils, or continuously dry sites); severe pest problems include borers, and severe disease problems include leafspots and anthracnose
• abundantly available with many cultivars, in ball and burlap or container form
• vigorous flowering occurs in full sun to partial sun, while sparse flowering occurs in partial shade to full shade
• Flowering Dogwood is somewhat sensitive to being transplanted in Autumn, and care should be taken to amend the soil, fertilize, water thoroughly, mulch adequately, and avoid Winter salt spray, to enhance survival chances during the first Winter

Foliage

• medium to dark green above but silvery-green below; by late Summer the leaves have often curled and slightly scorched at the margins due to the Summer heat, and reveal the silvery undersides of the leaves without the aid of a breeze
• opposite and acuminate, with major veins parallel to the curving leaf margins
• fall color is red to crimson-purple, occuring in September and October and often spectacular, especially if sited in full sun to partial sun

Flowers

• true flowers are small, yellow-green, ornamentally insignificant, and clustered in the middle of the four white showy bracts that are obovate and have reddish-brown indentations at their apices; each inflorescence is about 3" across
• flowering in late April and early May, and spectacular for up to one week
• if sited in shady locations, the flowering will be greatly diminished

Fruits

• ovoid clusters of upright fruits on very short stalks are green in Summer, turning to bright red in September while the leaves are still green, with a thin interior yellow flesh covering each seed
• very showy red fruits contrast well with the green foliage, or are showy by themselves when persistent throughout late Autumn and into early Winter
• fruits are readily eaten by birds and squirrels, either on the tree or after abscission

Twigs

• red-brown to silvery-brown twigs prominently display sympodial branching (several twigs originate from a common branch point and are raised and spreading above the branch plane, like extended fingers from an upturned palm)
• twigs are distinctly ringed with sequential opposite leaf scars, for a telescoping effect
• flattened floral buds are off-white, tinged with purple and maturing in late Summer, resembling biscuits with two distinct outer scales
• branches are light gray and smooth

Trunk

• single- or multi-trunked and low-branching
• dark gray-brown bark is broken into small square or rectangular blocks, often prominently covered by silvery-green lichens with age

ID Summary

• medium to dark green leaves have silvery undersides, revealed in the breezes or when leaf curl is common in late Summer and early Autumn due to drought, and also have the leaf veins parallel to the entire leaf margins, as is characteristic of Dogwoods
• four showy white floral bracts with indented, brown-red apices surround the chartreuse true miniature flowers, which give rise to green then red ovoid fruits, prominently displayed by late Summer and serving as a source of food for wildlife
• stems and branches display sympodial branching, with individual branches becoming arching to semi-pendulous with age, creating a layered to mounding effect in the spreading canopy
• gray-brown bark is broken into small rectangular blocks with maturity, and is often displayed on several trunks, or a single trunk that branches very low

USAGE

Function

• focal point, specimen, foundation, entranceway, understory, border, naturalizing, wildlife attraction, or four-season accent ornamental tree

Texture

• medium texture in foliage and medium-fine texture when bare
• average density in foliage and thick density when bare

Assets

• outstanding four-season small ornamental tree
• dense, white, profuse flowering in early Spring
• excellent red to red-purple foliage color and red fruits in Autumn
• ornamental bark, layered to mounding branching, and prominent floral buds in Winter

Liabilities

• requires acidic soil to survive and thrive
• not especially stress tolerant (needs partial sun, acidic soil, and evenly moist but well-drained rich soils for full ornamental potential and disease/pest resistance to be realized)
• leaf curl (leaf rolling) often occurs by late Summer, when sited in full sun and under drought stress
• prone to various diseases and pests
• slow growth

Habitat

• zones 5 to 9
• native to the Eastern United States

SELECTIONS

Alternates

• small ornamental trees having multi-season qualities (Acer palmatum, Amelanchier, Cornus kousa, Stewartia ovata, etc.)
• layered or mounding small ornamental trees (Cornus kousa, Magnolia x soulangiana, Magnolia stellata, etc.)

Variants

• many cultivars exist, primarily selected for white, pink, or red floral bract color, density of blossoms, or variegated foliage; the most common include:
• Cornus florida 'Cherokee Chief' - red-pink flowers, with foliage emerging reddish-bronzed and becoming green
• Cornus florida 'Cherokee Princess' - large white flowers, blooming profusely every year and a little bit earlier in the Spring than other cultivars
• Cornus florida 'Cherokee Sunset' - red flowers, foliage emerges green with a dark pink margin, changing to a creamy yellow margin, fall color pink-purple, resistant to anthracnose
• Cornus florida 'Cloud 9' - white flowers have overlapping bracts and are profusely borne when the tree is very young; also noted for floral bud hardiness when planted in the Northern extremes of the Flowering Dogwood range; however, this cultivar is rather slow-growing
• Cornus florida 'Welchii' - white flowers, with variegated foliage that is pink, cream, and green, becoming a vibrant pink-purple in Autumn
• Cornus x rutgersensis 'Constellation' - white flowering hybrid of Kousa and Flowering Dogwoods, resistant to borers and anthracnose that can plague Flowering Dogwood
• Cornus x rutgersensis 'Stellar Pink' - similar to above hybrid, but pink flowering

NOTES

Translation

• Cornus is the Latin name for Dogwood.
• florida translates as "flowering", referring to the showy flower bracts.

Purpose

• Flowering Dogwood is a very popular Spring-flowering small tree that is also a four-season ornamental accent.

Summary

• Cornus florida is a four-season small tree noted for its flower, fruit, foliage, fall color, bark, flower bud, and layered branching ornamental features, but often performing far below its potential when sited in neutral to alkaline pH soils.