Tree · Cornaceae
Flowering Dogwood
Cornus florida
Set it in part shade and moist, acidic soil, and the flowering dogwood pays you back with spring bracts and red autumn fruit.
Partial shade
Every 5–10 days
USDA 5–9
15–30 ft · 4.6–9.1 m
Overview
Flowering dogwood ranks among the defining small trees of eastern North America, the sort that sets the spring woods aglow with wide white blooms. Out in the wild it lives as an understory tree, taking its place under taller oaks and pines where the light filters down and the ground stays cool and damp. That habit tells you nearly all you need to know about growing it well.
The celebrated spring display plays a quiet trick. The four broad white things that read as petals are in fact bracts, modified leaves curled around a knot of tiny true flowers at the center, which show as small yellowish-green clusters. They open in April and May, sometimes ahead of the leaves, and the tree trails them with clusters of bright red fruit from August into October that birds strip away in short order.
It earns a moderate rating because it is particular about its site and falls to a handful of diseases once stressed. Find the right spot, sheltered from the harshest afternoon sun on ground that drains yet never bakes, and it eases into a long, slow life. Force it into hot, dry, compacted soil and you summon the very troubles that cut its years short.
Care
The short version: part shade with cover from blistering afternoon sun, moist and acidic well-drained soil, a 2 to 4 inch mulch to hold the roots cool, and a watchful eye for anthracnose through cool, damp seasons.
Light
This is a tree of the forest floor, so it favors part shade and welcomes relief from the hot afternoon sun. It will accept full sun in cooler regions or where moisture stays steady, but a scorching, open spot stresses it and swings the door wide for disease.
Water
Hold the soil consistently moist, since the tree has no tolerance for drought, heat, or packed ground. Soak it deeply through dry spells and spread 2 to 4 inches of mulch to keep moisture in and the shallow roots cool.
Soil
Settle it into rich, acidic, well-drained loam with ample organic matter mixed through. A pH between 6.0 and 7.0 suits it, and ground that drains freely yet never dries out is the mark to hit.
Temperature
It is hardy over a broad span, roughly -20°F to 100°F (-29°C to 38°C), taking in bitter winters and sweltering summers alike. Heat poses the greater threat over cold, because a tree parched and stressed by heat is the first one disease seeks out.
Humidity
Plain outdoor humidity is fine and needs no attention. Airflow matters far more than any humidity reading, since still, packed air around the canopy is what lets anthracnose and mildew get a grip.
Feeding
Feed once in early spring with a balanced slow-release fertilizer made for acid-loving plants. Keep the nitrogen low, because a rush of tender growth is exactly what anthracnose preys on.
Pruning
Prune in late fall or winter while the tree is dormant, removing dead, diseased, or cankered wood along with any water sprouts. Work with care and steer clear of wounding the bark, since open cuts are the way borers find their way in.
Repotting
This is a landscape tree that rarely needs repotting. If a young one is growing in a container, step it up only when roots begin circling the surface or the pot dries out fast after each watering.
Size & spacing
A grown flowering dogwood stands 15 to 30 feet (4.5 to 9 m) tall and spreads roughly as wide. Allow it that full 15 to 30 feet (4.5 to 9 m) of open ground so the canopy can breathe and disease gains less of a hold.
When to plant
Flowering dogwood keeps time with the temperate woodland year. The bracts unfurl in April and May, the red fruit colors up from August into October, and the prime moment to plant a new tree is spring or fall while it rests dormant.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Sow: Not typically started indoors; seed is sown outdoors in fall or stratified at about 41 degrees F for up to 120 days before spring sowing
- Plant: Spring or fall while dormant
- Harvest: April to May (showy white bracts before or with leaf emergence); red fruit August to October
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 5–9
Temperature: down to -29°C
Troubleshooting
Most dogwood trouble starts with a stressful site and surfaces on the leaves before it works into the wood. Spot it early, above all through a cool, wet spring, and you can often stop a small problem before it reaches the trunk. Match what you see below, then act while action still counts.
Spreading leaf blotches and limp gray foliage, then sunken cankers scarring the bark
What you are seeing is dogwood anthracnose, the worst disease this tree contends with, and it bites deepest in cool, damp, shaded ground. The first tan spots with purple rims appear on the lowest leaves, then the rot climbs into the twigs and trunk as sunken cankers that can wrap a stem and finish the tree. Cut cankered wood away in dry weather, sweep up dropped leaves, thin the crown so air moves through, and put down a labeled fungicide from bud break onward wherever the threat is high.
Fix:
- Prune out and destroy dead and cankered wood during dry summer weather
- Remove water sprouts and rake and dispose of fallen leaves
- Improve air circulation and avoid excess nitrogen
- Apply a labeled fungicide (chlorothalonil, mancozeb, propiconazole, or copper) from bud break through new growth in high-risk sites
Reddened leaves falling early, flaking bark, and fine sawdust by holes in the trunk
These signs belong to the dogwood borer, a larva that chews galleries beneath the bark and tends to enter through an existing wound. Look for bark that peels and sawdust-like frass gathering on the trunk and the larger limbs, because a young tree can be lost within a season or two. Hold the tree in good health and well watered, guard the bark against mower and trimmer nicks, and dress the trunk with a labeled permethrin beginning in early May.
Fix:
- Keep trees healthy with proper watering and fertilization
- Avoid bark wounds from lawn equipment
- Apply labeled permethrin to trunk and major branches beginning in early May, repeating per label
Chalky white dust filming the leaf tops with browned, scorched rims
A floury white layer dusting the fresh growth means powdery mildew, which moves in where the shade is heavy and the air hangs still. The leaf rims turn brown and a few leaves let go early, yet the tree generally pulls through it. Open up the crown and the plantings around it so air can pass, and lay down a labeled fungicide the moment the first patches surface.
Fix:
- Thin canopy and surrounding plantings to improve air circulation
- Apply a labeled fungicide (myclobutanil, propiconazole, sulfur, or copper) early when symptoms first appear
Pinpoint purple-ringed flecks scattered across bracts and tender leaves
Many tiny tan flecks haloed in reddish purple across the spring bracts is spot anthracnose, which surges in wet weather. The bracts look pocked and can pucker, yet the tree seldom suffers any real damage. Open the crown for airflow, plant resistant kinds, and in rough years lay on a labeled fungicide every 10 to 14 days from bud break through leaf expansion.
Fix:
- Thin the canopy to improve air circulation
- Plant resistant varieties
- Apply a labeled fungicide every 10 to 14 days from bud break through leaf expansion in severe cases
Toxicity
Reassuring news for a home with animals: flowering dogwood is not toxic. The ASPCA leaves it off the lists of plants that poison cats or dogs, and it brings no real risk to other pets, livestock, or people. The red fruit is bitter, so eating much of it might cause a mild stomach ache, but nothing in the tree is dangerous.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats Safe
Flowering dogwood does not appear on the ASPCA toxic list for cats, so an inquisitive nibble is no cause for alarm. Like any plant, a cat that swallows a mouthful of leaves may bring it back up, but the tree itself holds no poison.
Dogs Safe
Dogs are fine around this tree as well, since it is absent from the ASPCA toxic list. A large bite of bark or fruit might leave a dog with a brief tummy ache, yet there is no lasting danger.
Horses Safe
A horse can graze beside a dogwood with no harm done. Its leaves and twigs hold nothing toxic, and the tree is not known to trouble grazing animals.
Rabbits Safe
Rabbits may browse the leaves without worry. Nothing in the plant poisons them, though a rabbit fares best on its usual hay and greens rather than tree foliage.
Livestock Safe
Cattle, goats, and sheep run no risk from a dogwood standing in or beside the pasture. The tree counts as non-toxic, so an animal that strips a low branch or two will come to no harm.
Birds Safe
Birds relish the bright red fruit and feed on it freely, and that is precisely how the seed travels. The berries are a welcome meal rather than any kind of hazard.
People Safe
There is no poisoning risk to people from this plant. The red fruit tastes bitter, so eating much of it can bring on a mild stomach ache, but nothing about the tree is dangerous.
No special toxicity handling required; as with any plant, discourage pets from chewing large amounts of foliage or fruit.
Varieties
Most dogwoods on the market are named cultivars, selected for bract color, fuller bloom, or disease resistance. Here are a few worth knowing.
Cherokee Chief
The bracts here drop the usual white in favor of a deep rosy red that burns bright against the new spring leaves.
Cherokee Princess
A reliable, generous bloomer that loads itself early with broad white bracts.
Cloud 9
Packed with white flowers and ready to bloom freely even while still a young tree.
Appalachian Spring
A white-bracted pick valued for standing up to dogwood anthracnose.
How to propagate
Three routes lead to more flowering dogwoods, and which one fits depends on whether matching a named cultivar matters to you.
SeedModerate
Sow in fall, or stratify cleaned seed at about 41 degrees F for up to 120 days then sow in spring · Germinates the following spring; some seed delays to the second year
The seed comes with a built-in dormancy that only a cold stretch will release. Sow cleaned seed outdoors in fall, or chill it at around 41°F (5°C) for up to 120 days and sow in spring, and it pushes up the following spring, with a portion waiting until the second year. The trade-off is that seedlings differ from one another, so none will match a named cultivar.
Stem cuttingsModerate
Softwood cuttings in summer · Several weeks to root; cuttings from young trees root and grow better than those from mature trees
Take softwood cuttings through summer, or hardwood cuttings across the winter. Roots form in a few weeks, and cuttings drawn from young trees strike and grow far better than any pulled off old wood.
GraftingDemanding
Dormant season grafting or budding · One or more growing seasons to establish
This is the method the nursery trade relies on to keep a named cultivar true. Grafting or budding through the dormant season locks the bract color and disease resistance in place, and the young tree wants a season or more to take hold.
Myths
Flowering dogwood does best in full, hot sun like most flowering trees.
This tree grew up in the forest understory, and it asks for part shade over moist, acidic, organically rich ground. Drought, heat, and packed-down soil all push it past its limit, and a tree roasting in a hot, dry spot turns stressed. A stressed dogwood is far more likely to fall to disease, which makes the site you choose matter as much as any later care.
The big white petals of a dogwood bloom are its real flowers.
The four bold white parts every onlooker admires are not petals in the least. They are bracts, modified leaves, and the genuine flowers sit in the center as small yellowish-green clusters.