Cornus florida - Flowering Dogwood (Cornaceae) ------Cornus florida is a small tree with four-season branch point and are slightly uplifted and spreading, appeal. Flowering Dogwood is noted for its flower, like fingers from an upturned palm) fruit, foliage, autumn color, bark, flower bud, and -twig distinctly ringed with sequential leaf scars for a growth habit, but often performing below its potential telescoping effect in alkaline soils. -floral buds off-white, tinged with purple and forming in late summer, resembling biscuits with 2 FEATURES distinct outer scales Form -branches light gray and smooth -small deciduous tree Trunk -maturing at 15' tall x 20' wide -single or multi-trunked and low-branching under optimum conditions but -bark is broken into small square or rectangular often half that size or less under blocks, dark gray-brown, and often prominently stressful conditions covered with silvery lichens with age -upright oval growth habit in youth to spreading mounded USAGE with age, with limbs becoming Function layered, heavy, and slightly pendulous -focal point, specimen, foundation, entranceway, -slow growth rate understory, border, naturalizing, wildlife attraction, Culture or four-season accent small tree -tolerates full sun (if irrigated in summer) to full Texture shade (if flowering and fruiting is not important), but -medium in foliage and fine when bare best placed in partial sun to partial shade -average density in foliage and thick when bare -prefers well-drained but moist, acid soils Assets -propagated by rooted cuttings, cuttings grafted onto -four-season small tree (spring flowers, summer seedling understock, or seeds foliage, autumn foliage and berries, winter bark, -many disease and pest problems (exacerbated by branching, and floral buds) improper placement in alkaline or neutral soils) Liabilities including borers, leaf spots, and anthracnose -not urban tolerant or stress tolerant (needs optimum -abundant availability in the trade placement, acid soil pH, and summer irrigation for -not tolerant of compaction, severe heat with drought, full beauty to be realized) poor drainage, alkaline soils, or urban stress in -slow growth general -various cosmetic and life- Foliage threatening diseases and -medium to dark green above but silvery-green below pests -opposite and acuminate, with major veins parallel to Habitat the leaf margins -Zones 5 to 9 -autumn color red to crimson-purple, in Sept. and -Native to forests of Oct., and often spectacular, especially in full to Eastern and Southern U.S. partial sun as an understory tree or on the edges of woodlands

SELECTIONS Alternates -small trees having multi-season qualities, especially showy flowering -horizontally-layered or mounding shrubs or small trees Cultivars – Variants – Related species -many cultivars exist, primarily selected for white, pink, or red floral bract color, density of blossoms, or Flowers variegated foliage -true flowers are small, yellow-green, and clustered -C. florida 'Cherokee Chief' - red-pink flowers, in the middle of 4, white, showy, bracts that are foliage emerges reddish and becomes green obovate and have reddish-brown indentations at their -C. florida 'Cherokee Princess' - large white flowers, apices blooming profusely every year and a little bit earlier -flowering in late Apr. and early May and spectacular than other cultivars for up to 1 week -C. florida 'Cherokee Sunset' - red flowers, foliage Fruits emerges green with a dark pink margin, changing to a -ovoid clusters of upright fruits creamy yellow margin, autumn color pink-purple, -green turning to bright red in Sept., with a thin resistant to anthracnose interior yellow flesh covering the seed -C. florida 'Welchii' - white flowers, variegated -very showy red fruits contrast well with the green foliage is pink, cream, and green, becoming a vibrant foliage, or are showy by themselves when persistent pink-purple in autumn through Nov. after leaf abscission -Cornus 'Rutban' (PP7210) Constellation® - white -fruits are readily eaten by birds and squirrels flowering hybrid of Kousa and Flowering Dogwoods, Twigs resistant to borers and anthracnose that plague -red-brown to silvery brown twigs display sympodial Flowering Dogwood branching (several twigs originate from a common -Cornus 'Rutban' (PP7207) Stellar Pink® - similar to above hybrid, but pink flowering