How to Grow and Care for Flowering Dogwood Trees

Cornus florida

Because the state tree of Missouri, the flowering dogwood means loads to me.

I’m a long-time resident of the “Present-Me” state, and I can say with confidence that this decorative tree is unquestionably value exhibiting.

Beautiful leaves, stunning blooms, and an interesting type all mix to make Cornus florida a sight to behold, irrespective of the time of yr.

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This unhealthy boy isn’t the trickiest plant to handle, both.

Certain, you’ll must be additional vigilant to make sure that it doesn’t develop into sick or infested with pests. However so long as a flowering dogwood is saved wholesome, being its plant father or mother is clean crusing.

After all, correct cultivation takes some specialised data… which is why we put collectively this rising information for you!

After studying it, you’ll have the know-how wanted to develop and look after some actually superior bushes.

Right here’s a fast preview of every thing this information will educate you:

Hardy in USDA Zones 5 to 9, the flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) is native to the jap half of Mexico and america, and southeastern Canada.

It’s a member of the Cornaceae household and the Cornus genus – each of that are primarily synonymous with dogwoods.

The frequent time period “flowering dogwood” can also be used to consult with different dogwood bushes that put out attractive flowerlike leaf bracts, such because the kousa dogwood and pagoda dogwood.

However in relation to stunning blooms, C. florida is the champ.

Fast Look

Widespread title(s): Flowering Dogwood

Plant kind: Deciduous flowering tree

Hardiness (USDA Zone): 5-9

Native to: Southeastern Canada, jap United States and Mexico

Bloom time / season: Spring

Publicity: Half shade to full solar

Soil kind: Moist, fertile, properly draining

Soil pH: 5.5-6.5, barely acidic to barely alkaline

Time to maturity: 6 years

Spacing: 20 ft aside, 6 ft from buildings

Mature dimension: 15-40 ft extensive x 15-35 ft excessive

Finest makes use of: Hen gardens, groupings, native gardens, specimens, woodland gardens

Taxonomy

Order: Cornales

Household: Cornaceae

Genus: Cornus

Species: Florida

Cultivars: Appalachian Spring, Cherokee Chief, Cherokee Princess, Cloud 9

With a mature peak of 15 to 35 ft and a width of 15 to 40 ft on the cover, this understory tree has higher branches that develop upright, whereas the decrease branches unfold out extra horizontally.

This creates an attention-grabbing layered impact that emphasizes the branching behavior, relatively than the trunk.

The plant’s grey, scaly bark that some would possibly examine to alligator pores and skin peels simply, but the wooden beneath is robust and sturdy.

The genus title Cornus – from the Latin “cornu” that means “onerous” – is a nod to the wooden’s toughness.

The foliage is oppositely organized and every leaf is oval-shaped, narrowing to a pointed finish. Alternating veins originate from the midrib and meet on the tip of every leaf. The undersides of the leaves are pale, and the margins are barely wavy.

Colour-wise, the leaves emerge in shades of bronze-green to yellow-green in spring, mature to a darkish inexperienced in summer time, and rework to disclose crimson to reddish-purple hues come autumn.

This plant is definitely one of many first deciduous bushes within the panorama to showcase its fall colours, which persist till the leaves drop in early winter.

The flowers are what actually set C. florida aside from different panorama bushes. It’s proper there in each the frequent title and the Latin species title florida, that means “flowery” or “in bloom.”

However this does include a notable technicality: much like poinsettias or bougainvillea, the precise flowers aren’t the show-stoppers – relatively, the adjoining petal-like leaf bracts are.

The true flowers are yellowish-green, tiny, and crowded collectively in an insignificant mass that lacks showiness.

4 leaf bracts lie beneath the flowers, every formed like a top-heavy egg with a notable rose- or maroon-shaded notch at its apex.

The bracts are white in the usual species, however some cultivars characteristic golden-yellow, crimson, or pink hues.

Rising in mid-spring, the flowers are pollinated by butterflies and mining bees, and later give approach to clusters of shiny crimson drupes, which birds, rabbits, deer, and even black bears discover fairly tasty. Rabbits and deer additionally browse the tree for its leaves and twigs.

However to all Homo sapiens studying this, don’t get any concepts – the fruits are toxic to people.

How you can Develop Flowering Dogwood Bushes

For optimum well being and aesthetics, it’s finest to present your flowering dogwood the precise situations that it wants.

Local weather and Publicity Wants

C. florida performs finest in USDA Hardiness Zones 5 to 9. As an understory tree, it loves partial shade, however it will probably additionally deal with a fan of full solar publicity fairly properly at maturity if it’s saved correctly hydrated.

Leaf scorch can happen when situations are too dry, so a component shade location must be supplied should you want to play it secure.

As soon as your bushes have reached maturity, don’t fear about wind or storm injury, the flowering dogwood is a troublesome specimen.

Soil Wants

As is the case with many crops, well-draining soil is crucial for C. florida, together with an honest stage of soil fertility and the 5.5 to six.5 pH vary talked about above.

Soil compaction is one other situation that this tree tolerates properly, which is helpful should you’re working with heavy soils.

Water and Fertilizer Wants

Ideally, you need to keep even soil moisture whereas avoiding oversaturation.

This generally is a wonderful line to tread, so err on the facet of warning in relation to irrigation – suppose minimal efficient dose, relatively than most tolerable quantity.

A helpful irrigation prescription is to water every time the highest inch of soil feels dry.

Maintain soil fertility up by working a pair inches of well-rotted manure or compost into the foundation zone each spring.

Cultivars to Choose

A daily ol’ flowering dogwood is already fairly spectacular.

You’ll find a four- to five-foot potted C. florida specimen at FastGrowingTrees.com.

Flowering Dogwood

For seeds, the CZ Grain Retailer sells 20-packs of white-flowering C. florida seeds on Amazon.

However maybe you’re after a sure trait that the usual species lacks. If that’s the case, you’re in luck – there are greater than 100 cultivars to select from.

Listed below are my private favorites.

Appalachian Spring

The flowering dogwood is thought for lots of issues, however illness resistance isn’t one among them.

Nonetheless, ‘Appalachian Spring’ is the exception: it’s practically impervious to Discula destructiva, a very nasty pathogen that you simply’ll find out about shortly.

It additionally packs some critical magnificence inside its upright 20- to 30-foot-tall body, with overlapping white flower bracts and gorgeously crimson fall hues.

So sure, it will probably dish out the aesthetics and take the anthracnose.

Cherokee Chief

Whereas the opposite three cultivars described right here have white flowers – a mirrored image of my very own aesthetic bias – ‘Cherokee Chief’ is an excellent exception.

The leaf bracts of ‘Cherokee Chief’ are just about the inverse of the usual species’: ruby-red, with white notches at their apex.

There’s a little bit of further white on the bract bases, which creates a white “aura” of kinds that pulls the attention to the greenish true flowers on the middle.

Reaching a peak of 20 to 25 ft and a width of 12 to 18 ft, this cultivar is extra upright than the usual species plant. A show of pleasure, maybe?

‘Cherokee Chief’

FastGrowingTrees.com sells ‘Cherokee Chief’ in two- to three- or four- to five-foot sizes.

Cherokee Princess

However maybe you’re content material with a white flowering dogwood. In that case, ‘Cherokee Princess’ is solely an enchancment upon the unique.

This tree emerges early in spring, even for a flowering dogwood.

Moreover, the white blooms of this selection attain 5 inches in diameter – an inch or two wider than commonplace.

At a mature peak and width of 20 ft, it’s additionally resistant to identify anthracnose and canker.

A constant champion of C. florida cultivar evaluations, ‘Cherokee Princess’ emerges from dormancy earlier, flowers extra closely, and produces wider bracts than the usual – C. florida 2.0, if you’ll.

‘Cherokee Princess’

You’ll find ‘Cherokee Princess’ in #5 containers out there from Nature Hills Nursery.

Cloud 9

Can’t get sufficient flowers? With the ‘Cloud 9’ cultivar rising in your panorama, you’ll be on cloud 9.

Reaching a peak and width of 15 to twenty ft, the white bracts of ‘Cloud 9’ develop extra densely than is typical, to the purpose of overlapping with one another. This selection additionally has a slower development charge than the species plant.

Together with canker resistance, ‘Cloud 9’ has a better tolerance for ice, snow, and chilly temperatures than different flowering dogwoods.

In case you’re positioned simply on the border of Zone 5 – or stunned by the occasional unusually harsh winter – then ‘Cloud 9’ is the proper alternative.

‘Cloud 9’

You’ll find ‘Cloud 9’ out there from FastGrowingTrees.com.

Upkeep

Broken, diseased, or useless branches must be pruned everytime you discover them, however extra thorough bouts of pruning must be an annual apply, carried out simply previous to the emergence of recent development in spring.

Throughout these annual pruning classes, give attention to eradicating crossing or rubbing branches, watersprouts/suckers, and any obtrusive branches that hinder inter-canopy airflow… however don’t take away greater than a 3rd of the tree in a single go!

Don’t fear about shaping the shape or behavior – a flowering dogwood appears higher au naturel.

Sustaining the mulch layer you added upon transplanting with recent materials is efficient for preserving soil moisture, regulating soil temperature, and stopping weed development.

As a deciduous tree, C. florida will drop its leaves annually, which can should be raked up. One cool factor about fallen Cornus foliage, although, is its speedy decomposition.

Flowering dogwood leaves, for instance, are 10 occasions faster to decompose than oak leaves. Any raked-up and shredded leaves from wholesome specimens would make for an ideal mulch or composting materials!

Rake up and eliminate fallen leaves in case your high precedence is illness prevention, as pathogens can reside on in leaf detritus.

Propagation

You may propagate C. florida by way of seed, stem cuttings, and transplanting.

You may as well use layering or grafting methods, however for the typical dwelling gardener, it’s simpler to stay with the primary three strategies.

From Seed

To gather seeds, choose fruits once they’re ripe in August – just lately fallen seeds are primarily assured to be ripe.

To separate the seeds from the fruit, some growers advocate wrapping duct tape across the blades of a blender, mixing up the fruits, and washing away the loosened flesh by rinsing the seeds in a sieve.

Instantly following cleansing, the seeds will should be stratified.

Put the seeds in a plastic baggie stuffed with damp peat moss, seal it, and place the baggie within the fridge for 120 days. All of the whereas, be certain to maintain the moss moist.

After stratification, fill well-draining four-inch pots with a 50-50 combination of sphagnum peat moss and perlite.

Pots will be costly, however even punching a few small holes within the bottoms of plastic SOLO cups will do the trick.

Moisten the soil, then bury every seed half an inch deep in its personal pot. Set the pots on a sunny indoor windowsill the place they may obtain oblique mild.

Maintain the soil moist, keep indoor temperatures of 70 to 80°F, and repot as wanted to keep away from root bindage.

As soon as August rolls round once more, the seedlings must be prepared for hardening off.

Transfer the pots outdoors to an space with full or partial solar for thirty to sixty minutes earlier than bringing them again inside.

Every following day, add an extra half to full hour of publicity till the seedlings can deal with a full day outdoor, after which they’ll be prepared for transplanting!

From Stem Cuttings

Earlier than you start, fill a seed-starting tray with a 50:50 mixture of moist peat moss and perlite.

In early summer time, take four-inch cuttings with a sterile blade from the information of wholesome, semi-hardwood stems.

Take away the leaves from the underside inch of every chopping and dip the reduce ends in a rooting hormone, akin to Bontone II IBA rooting powder from Bonide.

Bonide Bontone II IBA Rooting Powder

It’s out there from Arbico Organics.

Stick the hormone-powdered ends of every chopping about an inch deep into the peat and perlite combine in your tray, ensuring to area them a few inches aside.

Place the tray close to a sunny window, and maintain the media across the cuttings moist.

In six to eight weeks, give the cuttings a delicate tug to check for sturdy root growth. Every rooted chopping will be repotted in its personal four-inch container.

As soon as new leaves type, the cuttings are able to be moved into a chilly body outdoors.

As a result of dogwood cuttings take a few seasons to develop winter hardiness, it’s finest to maintain them in a hotbed or heated chilly body for the following two years, repotting as vital and adjusting the temperature as wanted – don’t let it drop beneath freezing or rise excessive sufficient to prepare dinner the crops!

As soon as they’re sufficiently hardened off to out of doors situations, it’s time to transplant them into the backyard.

Through Transplanting

Bought transplants? The perfect occasions for transplanting are late fall and early spring.

Come transplanting time, put together patches of fertile backyard soil with a pH of 5.5 to six.5.

House these websites no less than 20 ft aside and a minimum of six ft away from close by buildings or crops, and ensure they’re located in partial shade to full solar.

Dig holes of the identical depth and a bit wider than the foundation programs of your transplants.

Construct up a mound of soil in the midst of the opening. Decrease the transplants in one by one, unfold their roots over the mound, backfill with soil, and water them in.

Add two to 4 inches of mulch – akin to pine straw or shredded leaves – to the foundation zone and keep constant soil moisture.

It’s vital to verify the foundation flare isn’t coated by both mulch or soil. Whether it is, then return and uncover it.

Pests and Illness

All of the splendor of a flowering dogwood doesn’t imply squat if the plant is wracked with illness or infestation.

And sadly for C. florida, it’s vulnerable to an infection or injury brought on by a variety of pathogens and pests.

Herbivores

Within the wild, a flowering dogwood attracts a wide range of plant-eating mammals to its tasty fruits, leaves, and/or twigs.

There are a pair for the house gardener to be looking out for:

Deer

Your finest protection towards deer? A “D-fence.”… and the “D” stands for deer.

Certainly, a deer fence round your property will maintain your panorama protected against any cervid-chomping.

Moreover, sprays of deer repellent round vulnerable plantings will additional deter Bambi from feasting.

Enviro Professional Deer Repellent

In want of assets? We’ve bought deer fencing and deer management guides so that you can learn, and Enviro Professional sells six-pound tubs of granular deer repellent by way of Amazon.

Rabbits

Identical to deer, rabbits will browse the leaves and twigs of C. florida, if given the prospect.

Take away stated probability with a fringe of rooster wire or {hardware} material.

Erect it two to a few ft in peak, and bury it two to a few inches beneath the bottom round every plant to forestall sub-surface tunneling.

Galvanized Fencing Wire

Want some fencing? These galvanized rolls of fencer wire from House Depot ought to meet your wants simply wonderful.

Bugs

Holding creepy-crawlies from consuming your Cornus will prevent some strife on the illness entrance, since bugs may vector pathogens.

Borers

Aka Synanthedon scitula, dogwood borers are the larval type of a wasp-like clearwing moth that lays its eggs in bark wounds and openings.

After they hatch, the larvae feed on the inside bark and cambium, which might result in department dying, decreased vigor, and even the dying of the complete tree… particularly in case your tree is younger.

Including insult to harm, infested leaves can redden and drop early.

Correct cultivation will assist shore up any bark openings that the moths would possibly lay eggs in. Keep away from pointless harm by being cautious together with your mowing, pruning, and string trimming.

Purposes of permethrin in early Might, repeated at three-week intervals till fall, will support management. Goal the trunk, main branches, and any bark wounds together with your spray.

Bushes infested past restore must be eliminated and disposed of.

Membership Gall Midges

The dogwood membership gall midge (Resseliella clavula) is a small fly measuring a sixteenth of an inch in size.

Feminine adults lay their eggs in terminal leaves, which hatch, enter the shoots, and start feeding.

Small galls type in response, which kills any portion of the stem past the gall.

Come fall, the larvae exit the gall and drop to the bottom to overwinter. Together with the galls, leaf wilt and deformation are each noticeable signs.

Mild infestations aren’t an enormous concern, however heavy infestations can stunt development. If you discover galls, take away and burn the twigs on which they reside.

Sawflies

The first symptom of a Macremphytus tarsatus infestation is partially to utterly consumed foliage, which is eaten by these pests of their larval stage.

Younger larvae are coated in a powdery white wax, whereas mature larvae are yellow, with black spots or crossing stripes. Defoliation can result in well being points for the plant.

Start to observe for these pests in early July, and manually take away any larvae that you simply see. Sprays of horticultural oil – utilized in accordance with package deal instructions – might help with heavier infestations.

Discover extra recommendations on figuring out and controlling dogwood pests right here.

Illness

Using sterile instruments, planting in disease-free soils, and deciding on crops free from sickness will all assist to forestall the unfold of pathogens that might significantly wreck your C. florida.

Anthracnose

Also referred to as Discula anthracnose, this illness is brought on by Discula destructiva fungi, a reputation that’s forebodingly ominous. And for good motive – to a Cornus, anthracnose is virtually The Black Loss of life.

Preliminary signs seem in spring as spots on the leaves and leaf bracts, which work their method up the tree. Contaminated foliage develops purple-edged tan spots, giant blotches, and dry brown margins, which might blight the leaves and trigger drooping.

The an infection additionally causes cankers on the stems, branches, and trunk, ultimately girdling and killing the tree.

To forestall an infection, plant resistant cultivars akin to ‘Appalachian Spring.’ Take away and pitch any water sprouts, useless branches, and fallen leaves, potential overwintering websites for the fungi.

Enhancing air circulation by way of pruning can even decrease the percentages of an infection, and spraying new buds, leaves, and shoots with accepted, anthracnose-targeting fungicides in early spring will assist to guard your tree.

Fungal Leaf Spot

Leaf spot in flowering dogwood could also be brought on by Cercospora cornicola fungi and species of Septoria.

An infection primarily happens in the course of the moist summer time months.

Each sorts of fungi trigger small, irregularly-shaped spots bordered by leaf veins. Cercospora spots are tannnish-brown, whereas Septoria spots are a darker brown.

Fungal leaf spot received’t kill the tree, however it actually received’t assist its appears. Cleansing up fallen leaves promptly will assist with prevention, whereas extra extreme infections will be managed with fungicides.

Powdery Mildew

Attributable to the fungus Erysiphe pulchra, powdery mildew covers higher leaf and shoot surfaces with a wonderful white powder.

Further signs embody marginal leaf scorch, reddish discoloration, yellowing, and untimely leaf drop. Infections aren’t deadly, however all of those signs can impression the plant’s magnificence.

For prevention, eliminate close by fallen leaves, take away contaminated tissues, and prune to enhance air circulation.

Cultivars from the Appalachian sequence together with ‘Pleasure,’ ‘Blush,’ ‘Snow,’ and ‘Mist’ all present resistance towards powdery mildew.

Fungicides akin to myclobutanil and propiconazole – utilized in accordance with instructions on the label or by an expert arborist – work for management.

Finest Makes use of for Flowering Dogwood Bushes

Whether or not planted individually or as a part of a small grouping, flowering dogwood appears superior as a specimen planting.

It affords multiseason visible curiosity with distinctive aesthetics all year long: spectacular spring blooms, lush summer time leaves, colourful fall foliage, and an attention-grabbing branching behavior to get pleasure from throughout in any other case barren winters.

As a mid-size understory tree that may survive simply wonderful out within the open, C. florida is flexible within the panorama.

It appears proper at dwelling in woodland and native gardens, and suits in areas the place bigger bushes received’t.

For followers of fauna in addition to flora, C. florida attracts pollinators with its flowers, whereas its fruits entice birds and numerous mammals.

A Dogwood Pun? However Wouldn’t That Be Cornus?

I’m sorry, however I needed to.

In any case, now you’ll be able to develop the flowering dogwood! It’s attractive, versatile, and although it might put your plant well being care abilities to the take a look at, most would agree it’s well worth the bother.

Plus, it’s a little bit slice of marvelous Missouri which you can put in your panorama… which, I’ll admit, I say with a heavy bias.

Any questions or remarks about rising this tree can go into the feedback part beneath!

Concerned with rising another dogwood bushes? Then take a look at these guides:

© Ask the Specialists, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. See our TOS for extra particulars. Initially printed February fifth, 2023. Final up to date March ninth, 2025. Product images by way of Arbico Organics, Enviro Professional, FastGrowingTrees.com, House Depot, and Nature Hills Nursery. Uncredited images: Shutterstock.