Tree · Cornaceae
Flowering Dogwood
Cornus florida
Give it 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 is one of those classic small trees of eastern North America, the sort that sets the spring woods aglow with broad white blooms. Out in the wild it grows as an understory tree, tucking in below taller oaks and pines where the light comes dappled and the soil stays cool and damp. That habit pretty much tells you all you need to know about growing it well.
The famous spring display is a bit of a sleight of hand. Those four big white parts that look like petals are really bracts, modified leaves folded around a little knot of true flowers in the center. They open in April and May, sometimes ahead of the leaves, and the tree follows up with clusters of bright red fruit from August into October that the birds polish off in a hurry.
Why does it rate as a moderate tree to grow? Because it's picky about where it lives and falls prey to a few diseases once it's under stress. Get the spot right, with cover from the worst afternoon sun and ground that drains yet never dries to a crisp, and it eases into a long, slow life. Stick it in hot, dry, compacted soil, though, and you're inviting the very problems that cut its years short.
Care
The short version: part shade with some cover from harsh afternoon sun, moist and acidic well-drained soil, a 2 to 4 inch layer of mulch to keep the roots cool, and a watchful eye for anthracnose in cool, damp seasons.
Light
Remember, this is an understory tree, so it tilts toward part shade and appreciates a rest from the hot afternoon sun. It'll handle full sun in cooler regions or where moisture stays steady, but a baking, exposed spot wears it down and rolls out the welcome mat for disease.
Water
Keep the soil consistently moist, because this tree just has no patience for drought, heat, or packed ground. Water deeply right through the dry spells and spread 2 to 4 inches of mulch to lock in moisture and keep those shallow roots cool.
Soil
Set it into rich, acidic, well-drained loam with a good amount of organic matter mixed in. A pH somewhere between 6.0 and 7.0 is what it likes, and soil that drains freely but never quite dries out is the real sweet spot.
Temperature
It's hardy across a big range, running from about -20°F to 100°F (-29°C to 38°C), so it covers cold winters and hot summers alike. The heat is the bigger worry here, not the cold, since a tree dried out and stressed by heat is the first one disease comes looking for.
Humidity
Plain old outdoor humidity works just fine, no fussing required. Airflow matters far more than any humidity reading, because still, crowded air around the canopy is what gives anthracnose and mildew their opening.
Feeding
Feed it once in early spring with a balanced slow-release fertilizer made for acid-loving plants. Keep the nitrogen on the light side, since a burst of soft new growth is exactly what anthracnose likes to feed on.
Pruning
Do your pruning in late fall or winter while the tree is dormant, clearing out dead, diseased, or cankered wood along with any water sprouts. Take your time and steer clear of nicking the bark, because open cuts are the very doorway borers slip through.
Repotting
This one's a landscape tree, so it rarely needs repotting. If you happen to be growing a young one in a container, only bump it up a size when roots start circling the surface or the pot dries out fast after each watering.
Size & spacing
A grown flowering dogwood gets to 15 to 30 feet (4.5 to 9 m) tall and spreads about that wide too. Hand it that full 15 to 30 feet (4.5 to 9 m) of open space so the canopy can breathe and disease has less to grab onto.
When to plant
Flowering dogwood keeps time with the seasons of the temperate woods. The bracts open in April and May, the red fruit colors up from August into October, and the best window to put a new tree in the ground is spring or fall while it's still 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 comes back to a stressful spot, and it tends to surface on the leaves before it works into the wood. Spot it early, especially during a cool, wet spring, and you can usually stop a small issue before it ever reaches the trunk. Find the match below, then act while there's still time to help.
Blotchy, drooping foliage that gives way to sunken cankers along the trunk
What you're looking at here is dogwood anthracnose, the nastiest disease this tree deals with, and it loves cool, damp, shaded corners. The first signs are tan spots edged in purple on the bottom leaves, and from there it works its way up into the twigs and trunk as cankers that can ring a tree and finish it off. Cut away the cankered wood when the weather is dry, gather up fallen leaves, thin the canopy so air can move, and reach for a labeled fungicide from bud break onward wherever the danger 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
Reddening leaves dropping early, flaking bark, and sawdust by holes in the trunk
These signs point to the dogwood borer, a larva that bores in under the bark, usually finding its way through some kind of wound. Keep an eye out for peeling bark and sawdust-like frass on the trunk and the larger limbs, because a young tree can be lost in a season or two. Keep the tree well watered and healthy, protect the bark from the mower and the trimmer, and treat the trunk with a labeled permethrin starting 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
Dusty white film over the leaves with edges that look scorched
A powdery white layer riding on the new growth is a sign of powdery mildew, and it makes itself at home where shade is heavy and the air barely stirs. The leaf margins go brown and a few leaves drop ahead of schedule, but the tree usually pulls through just fine. Open up the canopy and the plantings around it so air can flow, and spray a labeled fungicide the moment those first patches turn up.
Fix:
- Thin canopy and surrounding plantings to improve air circulation
- Apply a labeled fungicide (myclobutanil, propiconazole, sulfur, or copper) early when symptoms first appear
Tiny purple-rimmed spots scattered across the bracts and new leaves
Plenty of little tan spots ringed in reddish purple across the spring bracts is spot anthracnose, and it tends to act up when things stay wet. It can look pretty ragged and crinkle the bracts, but it almost never leaves the tree any worse for wear. Thin the canopy so air can move, go for resistant varieties, and in a bad year spray 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
Here's some good news if you've got animals at home: flowering dogwood is not toxic. The ASPCA doesn't list it among the plants that poison cats or dogs, and it poses no real threat to other pets, livestock, or people. The red fruit is bitter, so eating a bunch of it might cause a mild stomach ache, but there's nothing dangerous in the tree itself.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats Safe
Flowering dogwood doesn't show up on the ASPCA's list of plants toxic to cats, so a curious little nibble isn't anything to stress about. Like with any plant, a cat that puts away a lot of leaves might hack them back up, but the tree itself holds no poison.
Dogs Safe
Dogs are fine around it as well, since the tree isn't on the ASPCA toxic list. A good mouthful of bark or fruit might give a dog a brief tummy ache, but there's no lasting harm in it.
Horses Safe
Horses can graze near a dogwood without any trouble. There's nothing toxic in the leaves or twigs, and the tree isn't known to cause problems for grazing animals.
Rabbits Safe
Rabbits can nibble the foliage with no worries. Nothing in the plant is poisonous to them, though a rabbit does best sticking to its usual hay and greens instead of tree leaves.
Livestock Safe
Cattle, goats, and sheep have nothing to fear from a dogwood in or near the pasture. The tree counts as non-toxic, so an animal that strips a few low branches will be just fine.
Birds Safe
Birds go after the bright red fruit and eat it freely, and that's exactly how the seeds get spread around. Those berries are a handy food source rather than any kind of danger.
People Safe
There's no poisoning risk to people from this plant. The red fruit tastes bitter, so eating a lot 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 of the dogwoods you'll come across for sale are named cultivars, picked out for bract color, fuller bloom, or disease resistance. Here are a few that are worth getting to know.
Cherokee Chief
Skips the usual white in favor of deep rosy-red bracts that really pop against the fresh spring green.
Cherokee Princess
A reliable, generous bloomer that loads itself up early with big white bracts.
Cloud 9
Buried in white flowers and happy to bloom freely even while it's still a young tree.
Appalachian Spring
A white-bracted pick that's valued mostly for shrugging off dogwood anthracnose.
How to propagate
There are three ways to make more flowering dogwoods, and which one you go with really comes down to 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 its own dormancy that only a cold stretch will break. Pop cleaned seed in the ground outdoors in fall, or chill it at around 41°F (5°C) for up to 120 days and sow in spring, and it'll come up the next spring, though some seed waits until the second year. One thing to know: seedlings vary, so they won't be a match for 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
Grab softwood cuttings in summer, or hardwood cuttings through the winter. They'll root within a few weeks, and ones taken from young trees catch and grow much better than anything off old wood.
GraftingDemanding
Dormant season grafting or budding · One or more growing seasons to establish
This is the trick the nursery trade uses to keep a named cultivar true. Grafting or budding while the tree is dormant locks in the bract color and the disease resistance, and the young tree needs a season or more to find its feet.
Myths
Like most flowering trees, dogwood thrives in hot, blazing full sun.
Here's the thing: this is a native understory tree, and what it really wants is part shade over moist, acidic, organically rich ground. Drought, heat, and packed-down soil all wear on it, and a tree cooking away in a hot, dry spot ends up stressed. A stressed dogwood is far more likely to fall to disease, so where you plant it counts just as much as anything you do afterward.
Those big white petals on a dogwood bloom are the actual flowers.
The four eye-catching white parts that everyone loves aren't petals at all. They are bracts, modified leaves, and the real flowers are those small yellowish-green clusters sitting right in the middle.